1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-182007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007.

Very exciting stuff that we're talking about as we finish off chapter four. We're talking about the rapture of the church. We're talking about being caught up to meet the Lord in the air and to be with him forever and ever. Now, as we study this portion of scripture, I must start by sharing that

There's definitely much that we do not understand in some of these verses and some of these topics that we'll be dealing with. And so I want to encourage you as we go through these things to believe wholeheartedly what the scripture clearly teaches. And we'll wait and see how the Lord fulfills the rest. Some of the in-between things we're not so sure about and we can't put together in our minds. But what we have before us.

Let's grasp onto it and believe it wholeheartedly because it's what the Bible teaches. In dealing with this subject, we must first back up for just a moment and remember that Jesus Christ has come to this earth.

He came about 2000 years ago as a baby and he grew into a man, became a man who died on the cross for our sins. He was God. Yet he became man in order to atone for your sins and my sins. This first coming of Jesus Christ, it was prophesied in the Old Testament. It was promised that a Messiah would come. But when Jesus came, he

The Jewish people who were supposed to be expecting the Messiah, their Savior, they were supposed to be expecting Jesus Christ. In fact, there was prophecies in the Old Testament detailing the very day that he would walk into Jerusalem presenting himself as king.

And yet they completely missed it because in the Old Testament, not only are there prophecies of this servant who would come and suffer on behalf of the people, but there is also prophecies of the Messiah that would come, that would conquer and set up his kingdom upon the earth.

And so at that time, the Jewish people were not looking for the humble servant, the savior to die on the cross to take care of man's sins. They were lurking, looking for an earthly savior, one who would set up his kingdom and conquer. And they did not receive Jesus Christ at that time as their Messiah. He first came as a baby, as a savior. And yet he,

He will come again to fulfill the Old Testament. He will come again as a conquering king and set up his reign here on this earth. And that's known as the second coming of Jesus Christ. What they didn't see at that time when Jesus was here was that those prophecies, although they seem to contradict in reality, what was taking place was there was two separate events. He would come once.

As a humble servant. And then he would come again as a conquering king. But in between the first coming of the Lord as a humble servant and the second coming of the Lord as a conquering king, there is another event that takes place. It's separate. It's not the first coming and it's not the second coming. It's in between the two distinct and separate. It's called the rapture of the church.

Now, there is so much to talk about on this subject. We cannot cover it all in our time that we have together this morning.

And so instead of trying to cover the entire subject and hit every detail, we'll be staying focused on the points that Paul brings up within this passage. Next week, as we continue on in chapter five, Paul continues with the subject. And so we'll be looking at some further points next week. And then as he writes to them in second Thessalonians, he covers yet even more points.

points and topics regarding the rapture of the church. And so as we go on to Second Thessalonians in a few more weeks, we'll see even more things about this. I would encourage you, if you would like to dig in and you don't want to wait for us to get there, there is a Maranatha series that Costa Mesa, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, recently went through.

And in that, they detail and they go through the rapture of the church, the end times, all of the eschatology and end times events and things. It's really great. And so you could contact Cabo Chapel Costa Mesa, the word for today, or you could talk to Richard, who's not here this morning. Pray for him. He's been having some really bad headaches. And so but you could talk to him and he could order it for you as well.

So I encourage you to do that if it's upon your heart. There's lots of resources. But this morning, let's see what the Lord has for us. Verse 13. 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.

Paul starts out as he begins this subject. He says, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren. I don't want you to be ignorant of these things. I want you to be informed. I want you to be educated in this area.

Paul uses this expression several times in his letters. It's his way of highlighting when something was really important and that we're to pay special attention to it. He uses it in Romans chapter 11 as he's describing for us God's plan for Israel.

He uses it in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 as he details the spiritual gifts and that we're not to be uninformed or ignorant of spiritual gifts. And then here in 1 Thessalonians 4, he says, I don't want you to be ignorant of the hope that all believers have.

These are special areas that we need to pay attention to and know Paul says don't be ignorant in these areas. And so since Paul does not want you to be ignorant, I would encourage you to pay special attention this morning. Take good notes. Meditate on these verses, this passage that we're studying. I'm going to be sharing with you lots of cross references here.

And so I would encourage you to write them down. Take some time later to read them. Educate yourself and make sure you have a solid grasp on the things that we'll be studying this morning. He says, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.

Specifically, he doesn't want us to be ignorant of those who have fallen asleep. What about them? Well, first of all, what is he talking about, about those who have fallen asleep? Well, he knew that this morning would be daylight savings time and that some would still be sleeping. Just kidding. No, when Paul is referring to those who have fallen asleep, he's referring to believers who have died.

He refers to those who have died in Christ as those who have fallen asleep. This was common in the New Testament. We see it over and over again. And in fact, Jesus is the one who started it. In John chapter 11.

Verses 11 through 14, Jesus is talking to his disciples about a man named Lazarus who was a friend of his. Remember, his sisters were Mary and Martha. Lazarus was sick. They sent them a message. They sent Jesus a message. Hey, the one you love, Lazarus, he's sick.

And Jesus waits a few days before going and he's getting ready to pack up and go. And it says in verse 11 of John 11 that he said to his disciples, our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him. And the disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well.

Verse 13 of John 11 says, however, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Verse 14, then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. See, Jesus introduced this concept to the disciples and they were a bit confused. Hey, Jesus, if Lazarus is sleeping, that's good. You know, when you're sick, you need to get your rest. And if you go wake him up, maybe he won't get well.

But Jesus says, no, you don't understand. I'm not talking about that he's sleeping like he closed his eyes to take a nap or a siesta. I'm saying that he has died. He spells it out very clearly for them. And so we know as Paul is referring to those who have fallen asleep, he's not talking about those who are a little bit extra sluggish in the morning. He's talking about those who have died in Christ Jesus.

Now, some will take this passage and this concept throughout the New Testament and they use it to teach what is called soul sleep. And that is that they teach that when you die, that you go to sleep.

For however long it takes until the day of judgment. So you just kind of don't exist. You just kind of are in a sleep, you know, unaware of anything type of state until the day of judgment. But it's important to note that this is not what Jesus taught. There's no truth in that type of doctrine at all. Sleep is a reference to the body. The body sleeps, but the soul doesn't.

In Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31, very important passage. I would encourage you to write that down. Luke 16, 19 through 31. Spend some time, study that passage.

There, Jesus tells the story of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. Different from the Lazarus that we looked at in John chapter 11. This Lazarus was a poor beggar who stood outside the gate of the rich man. And his whole life, basically, he begged in front of this rich man's house. And Jesus tells the story that they both die.

And as they both die, they go to a place called Hades. It's not the eternal fire judgment yet, but there's a separation in this place where they're at.

There's what's called Abraham's bosom, which is where those who are believers in God would go. And they would go there to be comforted, to be at peace, to be at rest until the time that Jesus would die, that they would be able to enter into heaven. But on the other side, and there's a great chasm in between, was the rich man. And the rich man was in torment. And he sees Lazarus.

Over with Abraham across this great chasm. And he says, hey, Abraham, send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and put it on my tongue because I'm in torment here. Abraham says, oh, he can't do that. There's this chasm you can't cross back and forth between. He says, OK, can you at least send it back to my family so that he could tell them not to come to this place to believe in God and walk with God?

They have this dialogue that goes on and I'm using it right now. I'm bringing it up to remind you and illustrate their souls were not sleeping. They were conscious and aware. They remembered they had recognition. They were very aware of what was going on and what they were experiencing. Luke chapter 16 verses 19 through 31 is the passage. It's not a parable. In none of the parables did Jesus ever name the characters.

He uses a name which indicates to us it's not a parable. But let's say, even if it is a parable, understand that parables were always based on real and true situations or scenarios. For example, the wise man who built his house upon the rock as opposed to the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. Now, if you build a house upon the sand, when the storm comes, it really will collapse, right?

But if you build your house upon the rock, it really will stand firm. The sower who sowed the seed. The principle is true. Seed that's sown on the good soil produces the fruit. The principle is true. Even if it is a parable, the scenario, the situation that Jesus describes is true. Another important point demonstrating that there is no such thing as soul sleep is

is Jesus's words to the thief on the cross. Remember, as Jesus hung there, there was the two thieves and they were both ridiculing him, but one of them repented. So, Lord, you know, remember me when you enter into your kingdom. And Luke 23, 43, Jesus says back to him, assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. Jesus doesn't say, hey, today you'll sleep.

And in a couple thousand years, when judgment happens and when I come back, then you will be with me. No, he says, today you will be with me in paradise. Today, immediately, this day, you will be with me. So Paul, in referencing those who have fallen asleep, he's talking about those who have died, not have gone into a soul sleep or anything like that, but those who have gone to be with the Lord.

And he says, I don't want you to be ignorant concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. See, the reason why Paul does not want you to be ignorant is so that you don't sorrow as others who do not have hope. Paul's point is, hey, guys, we have hope. We don't need to sorrow as others do because we have great hope.

Remember, hope was one of the points that Paul has been sharing about as we've studied through 1 Thessalonians. Faith, love, and hope. Hope we defined as a confident focus on eternity. A confident focus on eternity. Knowing that it's there. Knowing that God has things in store for us.

We have hope. It's not something that is uncertain the way that we use the word hope today, but it's something that is absolutely certain. It is a guarantee. It's a guarantee. There's no question about it. We have hope.

Others don't have hope, but we do because of the word of God. We do because of the promises of Jesus Christ. We have hope. What is our hope? What is our guarantee? Do you remember what Paul said in Philippians chapter one? I told you I'd be sharing a lot of portions of scripture with you. Philippians chapter one, verses 21 through 23. Paul says, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is what?

To die is gain. He goes on to say, Paul had hope. He says, Paul had hope.

He says, I have this desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. The things that God has in store for me after death, Paul says, is far better than what I can experience here in this life. Our hope and guarantee is that God has something far greater for us when we enter into eternity. Our hope and guarantee is that those believers who have died will

Really are in a better place with Jesus Christ. It's far greater for them to be where they're at than to be here with us. They have gained. Now, it seems that the Thessalonians were worried about those who had died in Christ. They were looking forward to the coming of the Lord. They knew about Jesus coming back, but they were worried because what about those who died? Did they miss out on this glorious future with God?

And Paul is sharing with them, no, and that's the point as he continues to go on in the passage. No, they didn't miss out. They're with Jesus. They are in a place that's far better. They have gained. So Paul says, I don't want you to be ignorant, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

Because we have hope of eternity. We have hope in the promises of God. We have this guarantee of heaven. Now, I think it's also important to note that Paul does not say that as believers we are not to have sorrow. He's not saying, hey, don't sorrow. Don't be sorrowful. Don't mourn. Please understand, nobody should ever be made to feel guilty for sorrow in the death of a loved one.

There is a place for sorrow. It does hurt. Sorrow does not make a person unspiritual, nor does it mean that they do not have faith in God. Sorrow is a part of the emotions and feelings that God has given to us. Jesus wept when Lazarus died in John 11, 35. He also expressed great sorrow and emotion in the garden before his own death. It wasn't a lack of faith, just part of sorrow.

The capacity that he has given to us. There's a proper place and time for sorrow. Please don't ever condemn anybody. Comfort, love, encourage. Because there is a place and time for sorrow. What Paul is saying is that even though we have sorrow...

It is not as others who have no hope. We have sorrow, but at the same time, we also have hope. Verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus.

Here's why we have hope. Because if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then we also believe that God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. Now, do we believe that Jesus died and rose again? That was a real confident answer. Do we believe that Jesus died and rose again? Yes, absolutely we believe that. I know I believe it. I don't know if you believe it, but I believe it. Jesus Christ, he died again.

He was buried and three days later he rose again. We're going to celebrate Easter in just a couple weeks to remember that fact that he resurrected. That he didn't stay in the grave as the Discovery Channel might teach you. He ascended to be at the right hand of the Father. His resurrection proved and authenticated all of his claims. Guarantees all of his promises. And Paul says if we believe that...

which we do, it's the cornerstone of our faith, then we also believe that God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. This is why we don't sorrow as those who have no hope, because we know that those who have died in Christ, those who sleep in Jesus, God will bring with him when he comes.

Jesus' resurrection guarantees our own resurrection. And since Jesus did die and rise again, we know that God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. Here's the picture that Paul is painting. Jesus is going to bring with him all the believers that have died, and we are going to meet him in the air, as we'll continue to study in verse 17.

So our hope and guarantee is that those believers who have died really are in a better place. But also we have the hope and guarantee that we will see them again because we will be caught up together in the clouds with them to be with the Lord forever and ever. Another important thing to point out here is that those who sleep in Jesus are with him right now. God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus.

They are right now with him and he will bring them to meet us in the air. Paul doesn't say, you know, God's got to go. He's got to make a couple of stops first. He's got to go pick up all these other believers and then he's going to come back and meet you in the air. No, they're with him right now. And he's going to bring them when he comes to meet us in the clouds or in the air. Second Corinthians chapter five, verses six through eight. Paul shares with us.

So we are always confident, knowing that while we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well-pleased rather, to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Here in 2 Corinthians 5, Paul shares with us probably something that's familiar to you.

It's an expression that we use in the Christian world. And that is to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It is absolutely true. Paul says, look, we are confident. Here's what we know. When we're in this body, we're not in the presence of Jesus. He's in our midst, but we're not in eternity.

We don't know yet as we are fully known. We don't see him yet face to face. Paul says, as long as we're in this body, hey, we walk by faith, not by sight. We don't see him face to face, but we're confident. Just as confident that being in this body means we're not seeing Jesus face to face. We're confident. Yes, well pleased rather. In fact, it's better for us to be absent from this body, to put this body aside and to be present with the Lord. It's better.

To be present with the Lord. And when we are absent from this body. When this body is put to rest. When a believer in Jesus Christ sleeps. They are immediately in the presence of the Lord. When you die. If you are born again. Then you go immediately into the presence of Jesus Christ. Those who have gone before us in death.

that believed in Jesus Christ are with him right now, and he will bring them with him when he comes to meet those who are alive in the air. Verse 15, For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. Paul says, these things that we're sharing with you,

They're not our own ideas. They're not something that we made up. These things we say to you by the word of the Lord. It's not Paul's speculation or his best guess. It's the word of the Lord. This is the truth. Now, quick side note, Paul had a very special and unique ministry. Different from the other apostles, he was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles.

He had a powerful ministry as we see through the book of Acts. The Lord used him in a unique way to write 13 of the 27 books of the New Testament. Yet he did not walk with Jesus during his earthly ministry. When Jesus was here for that three and a half years as he was ministering, Paul was not a believer. He was not a disciple. He did not follow Jesus during his life here. He was not trained by the disciples who did walk with Jesus either.

Instead, Paul received the gospel message. He received his call, his commission and his doctrine by revelation from Jesus Christ supernaturally and personally. That's what Paul is explaining in Galatians chapters one and two.

He's explaining, look, I didn't go hang out with the disciples. I didn't join in the school of Peter. I didn't involve myself or learn from them. I was in the desert and God revealed himself to me. We know his conversion story in Acts chapter 9 as the Lord appeared to him personally and spoke to him. Ananias, when God called him to go and lay hands on Paul, said,

God told Ananias, hey, I've been speaking much to him. I've been showing him many things. And the confirmation of that is that a man named Ananias is going to come and pray for him. So go pray for him. There was much that God revealed to Paul supernaturally that he didn't reveal really to anybody else. Paul, in many of his letters, referred to the mystery of

The mystery is something that was not known prior, but is now known by revelation from God. And as we deal with the rapture of the church, this is one of those areas. It's not explicitly written about by other authors throughout the Bible. Like much of what Paul shared, this hope that we have spiritual gifts, the rapture of the church,

Nobody else in the Bible wrote the explicit details of these things like Paul did. God revealed them to Paul so that he might share them with us, that we might not be ignorant. Jesus promised that this would happen. In John chapter 16, verses 12 and 13, Jesus is preparing to leave his disciples and he says, I still have many things to say to you. In other words, there's still much you don't know.

But he says, but you cannot bear them now.

If I shared them with you, you didn't understand that I'm going to die and be raised from the dead three days later. If I share with you the rapture of the church, if I share with you about spiritual gifts, you're not going to be able to bear those things now. You won't be able to comprehend or really understand these things. But verse 13 of John 16, Jesus says, however, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.

And he ends up by saying, and he will tell you things to come. Jesus said, look, there's more to come that I haven't told you about. There's more to come that hasn't been revealed yet. And by my spirit, I'm going to reveal those things to you. And of course, through John, we see the end of things in the book of Revelation. Through Paul, we also see different aspects of that, but much again in detailing the rapture of the church.

By the Spirit, Paul writes these things. It's by the Word of the Lord. It is the truth, not his own ideas. Paul says, We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. I don't want you guys to be ignorant. There's no reason for us to sorrow as those who have no hope. Because just as surely as Jesus rose from the dead,

He will bring with him those who have died believing in him. And we who are alive, we who will remain until the end, until the coming of the Lord, we're not going to precede those who are asleep. We don't have an advantage over them. We're not going to hinder them who are asleep. In other words, they're not going to miss out on God's plan. They are with him. He will bring them with him and we will be joined together in

Verse 16. Paul, he's kind of explained the concept. Here's why we don't need to have hope. And now he's explaining, here's what's going to take place. Here's how it's going to happen. First of all, the Lord himself will descend from heaven.

Jesus Christ himself is going to descend from heaven, not yet to touch the earth, not to set up his kingdom. That's the second coming. But he's coming, descending from heaven to meet us in the clouds, to meet us in the air. And as he comes down, Paul says he comes down with a shout, with a voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God.

This shout, the voice of an archangel. Do you know what he's going to say? I do. He says, come up here. Revelation chapter four, verse one tells us. Revelation four, one says, John's writing. He says, after these things, I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, come up here and I will show you the things which must take place after this.

Revelation is broken up. Chapter 1 of Revelation is about the events or the things that John saw currently while he was writing and the things that he saw in the vision of Jesus Christ. Chapters 2 and 3 detail for us the church age, the age of the church. And after that, when the church age is complete,

As he writes to the seven churches, then chapter four begins the rest of the book of Revelation. The things that much must take place after this, after the rapture of the church. And it's at that point in Revelation chapter four, verse one, that the voice like a trumpet speaking says to John, come up here. Look at the elements. There's an open door. There's a voice like a trumpet saying, come up here.

Here in 1 Thessalonians 4.16, the Lord descends with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God. Very, very similar. In fact, the same scenario. Jesus Christ coming down and he cries out to all believers, come up here. And we are caught up to meet with him in the clouds. That's going to be one powerful call home. Did you ever have your parents, you know, when you're outside playing and they'd stand out in the front yard?

Get in here. It's dinner time. Or whatever your parents would say. That's basically what Jesus is going to do. Hey, it's dinner time. It's time for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Come up here. It's time to feast and to be with your Lord. Now, don't get confused here. The mention of the trumpet here is the trumpet of God. Sometimes people get confused because of the seven trumpets of the tribulation period detailed in Revelation chapters 8 through 10.

But there's no relation between the trumpet here in 1 Thessalonians and the trumpet in Revelation 8-10. The rapture takes place with the trumpet of God. But the trumpets that are mentioned in the book of Revelation...

During the tribulation, those are the trumpets of the angels. There's seven angels, each having their own trumpet, and they blow their own trumpet, and God pours out judgment corresponding with each angel's blowing on the trumpet. But that's not the trumpet of God. The trumpet of God is something unique and different, and it's specifically to call us home.

So the Lord himself would descend with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God. And then he says, the dead in Christ will rise first. Now, this is where sometimes we can become very confused. And I remind you, we do not know everything. In fact, I stand before you as all.

A man without wisdom. Because on Thursday the doctor pulled my last wisdom tooth. So I have no more wisdom. So I don't have every knowledge and all understanding. You have to go to Harvey for that. But here's what we do know. 2 Corinthians 5.8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We know that when a believer dies, they go to be with the Lord.

Hold on to that. Know that any believer, you as a believer, when you die, you immediately go into the presence of the Lord. If you listen to pastor's perspective on K wave, you will hear this question at least once a week. So if we go immediately to be with the Lord, then how do the dead in Christ rise first? Aren't they already with the Lord? How can they rise at this trumpet call of God?

And again, this is one of those areas where we accept what the Bible teaches. We believe it in faith, though we cannot understand every detail. Both are true. A believer who dies is immediately in the presence of the Lord. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Now, to help us understand this a little bit, the dead in Christ rising is a reference to their bodily resurrection.

Based on what the Bible teaches, and I'll give you another verse. We'll look at another passage in just a moment. Those who die in Christ are with God immediately. But they do not receive their new body, their resurrected body, until they descend with Christ to meet the living believers in the air. Until the rapture takes place. At the rapture, that event is when the dead in Christ will receive their resurrected bodies.

In other words, we all receive our resurrected bodies at the same time. Those who have died and those who are alive and remain. For the living believer at the time of the rapture, they receive their new body on the way up to meet with the Lord. And the dead in Christ...

The believers who are already with Jesus, they receive their new body on the way down with Jesus. So we're going up, we get changed. They're coming down, they get changed. And we meet together in the air. Now, I know you're thinking I'm really crazy, but turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. It's a few books to the left. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. I want to look at verses 51 and 52.

Let's start actually in verse 50. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 50. When you're there, say amen. If you're not there, say wait. Okay. 1 Corinthians 15, 50. Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Verse 51. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep.

But we shall all be changed. Paul is saying, look, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. In this body that you have, you cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Because it's a body that has a sinful nature. And you cannot enter into eternity with that body. Corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Right now, your body is corrupt. And you cannot inherit incorruption anymore.

With the body that you have, because your body is corrupt. And so Paul says, look, this is a mystery. You're not going to understand it completely. It's something that wasn't known before. It's revealed now by God. But we're not all going to sleep. Not everybody is going to die. There is going to be a time at the rapture of the church that not everybody will die. The believers who are alive at this time will be caught up into the air. They're not going to experience death.

Paul says, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. So even though not every believer is going to die, every believer will be changed. Every believer will put on immortality, will be changed from corruption to incorruption. Every believer will receive a new body, a perfect body. We will all be changed. When?

Look at verse 52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. When does it happen? Well, it happens in a moment at the sound of the trumpet, the trumpet call of God as the Lord himself descends with a shout. And what happens? Paul says there, the dead will be raised incorruptible. When are the dead raised incorruptible?

At that time, at the trumpet of God, at the rapture, the dead are raised incorruptible. What is incorruptible? That is the reference to the new body. Because corruption cannot inherit incorruption. It's at that time that they will receive the new body. The dead are raised incorruptible. And then he goes on to say, and we shall be changed.

So those who are alive at that time will then receive their new bodies. Again, those who are alive at that trumpet call of God calling all believers home will be changed as they go up to meet the Lord in the air. Those who are with Jesus now will be changed as they descend to meet us with the Lord in the air.

We know that when a believer dies, they go to be with the Lord. We know that when Christ brings them with him, they will receive their resurrected bodies. Beyond that, we really do not know the details. Don't let it trouble you. So if we go to be with Jesus, well, what does that mean? And how do we be with him? And does that mean we're just in spirit? And what does that look like?

Hey, God is spirit. We know that. So what's the problem with us being with him in spirit? I don't have any problem with that. Don't let it trouble you. Don't get freaked out or weirded out. Think about it this way. Do you know how your spirit interacts with your body right now? Can you explain that? Do you know how your body contains your spirit? Do you know how it is that you're going to live forever? Do you understand that? Can you explain that? Of course not.

Think about it this way. Does your spirit need your brain? Everyone do that. Does your spirit need your brain? What happens when you die? Do you need to think? Or is it that your spirit is restricted by your brain? Because Paul says, hey, then we will know even as we are fully known. Perhaps when we lose this body, we lose some of the restrictions that we've had up to this point. I don't know. We don't know. It doesn't explain it to us. We don't have the details.

So we shouldn't flip out or trip out over receiving the resurrected body at the end. Whatever it is, it's going to be great to live as Christ, to die as gain. I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better, Paul said. And so we know when a believer dies, they're with Jesus. We know that when Christ comes, when we meet him in the air,

They will receive and we will receive our resurrected bodies. Beyond that, we don't know the details. But our hope and guarantee is that God has a new and perfect resurrected body for us. Back in 1 Thessalonians.

Paul says, Then...

Afterwards is what that word means. Afterwards. After the dead in Christ are risen first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. It's going to be a grand reunion, like a family reunion you can't even imagine. And thus we will always be with the Lord. While Jesus is descending, the believers who are alive and remain will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. He doesn't come down to the earth. That's the second coming. That's something that takes place now.

Beyond the rapture, after the rapture, this is the rapture of the church when he comes partway down and we meet him in the air to be with him forever and ever. Paul says we shall be caught up together with them. This word caught up in the Greek, it's the word harpazo harpazo. I was listening to Damien Kyle.

And he was talking about the word harpazo. He was sharing, you know, he's really glad that they chose to use the rapture and kind of popularize that term rather than harpazo because harpazo just sounds real slow. Like they put helium balloons on you and you just kind of, you know, harpazo going up real slowly. The Latin, which is where we get the word rapture from, it's the word rapio or raptus.

And this is where we get the idea of the rapture of the church. People say, hey, the rapture doesn't appear in the Bible. Well, it depends on what version you're reading. If you read the Latin version, you'll see rapio or raptus and understand that's where the word is derived from. The teaching is very clear. It's all throughout the New Testament. We have example after example and great illustrations and things we'll continue to see. But this word harpazo...

is an important word. There's three basic meanings to the word. And I think each of them provide a little bit different perspective on our understanding of the rapture. And so I want to look at each of them real briefly. First of all, it means to quickly snatch out or away. The emphasis is on the quickly. It's a quick taking out. It's a quick removal of something. It's like, now you see me and now you don't.

Boom. Instantly. Gone. I know it's a little silly. It's okay. It's going to happen very quickly and immediately is the point. In a moment. In the twinkling of an eye. How long is a twinkling? The dictionary defines it as the amount of time it takes to blink. How long does it take you to blink? One thousand. I can't even count that slow or that fast. One

One of those. Others say that the twinkling of an eye is one one hundredth of a second. Some say one one thousandth of a second. Who knows? It's fast is the emphasis. That's the point. It's going to take place instantly before you can think about it, before you can have time to repent, before you can have time to confess and turn to Jesus Christ, before you can do that last thing or get married or buy that house. It's going to happen instantly in a moment. Very quickly.

That's why you cannot wait until the trumpet to get ready and repent. You won't have time. We'll talk about this more next week as we continue on in chapter 5. But the point is, it's to quickly snatch out or away. It's going to happen in a moment. And we need to be ready at any moment to go to be with the Lord. It could happen. There's nothing holding the rapture of the church back.

There's no other prophetic element that has to be fulfilled before Jesus comes to gather his church. It could happen today. It could have happened yesterday as well. It didn't, I hope. It could happen tomorrow. It could happen in 100 years. But it could happen today to quickly snatch out or away. The second definition is to seize or carry off by force.

I like this one as well. It's to seize or carry off by force. It's a forceful or violent removal. It's like what the dentist did to my tooth on Thursday. It was just a, and it was gone. And I think for some Christians, that's how they'll be taken up. I don't want to go, wait, wait, I was just about to do this, or I had these plans or I had these accomplishments. For some Christians, like my wisdom tooth, the roots were pretty deep.

And that's why we're not to have deep roots in this world. But for some, yeah, the Lord's going to have to take us violently, forcefully, with great force because we're so dug in to this world. What about my car? I wanted to get married first or whatever.

The seas are carried off by force. When Jesus says, hey, ready or not, here I come, he means it. He's going to take you whether you like it or not. So be ready. Have your bags packed. Light grasp on this world. We're here. We live here. But we're not of this world. We need to be ready. The final definition means to claim for one's self. Here I picture a child. Pulls it back. It's mine. That's the idea here. That's usually...

Done quickly and with much force as well. It's mine. You can't have it. And that's what Jesus is doing. The rapture of the church. He's coming back and he says, they're mine. You can't have them. You can't touch them. Satan, you're going to have your day. He's going to have his time to reign in the tribulation period. And you can't have them. They're mine. They're going to be with me.

Thus we will ever, we shall always be with the Lord. Isn't that exciting? To know that God is coming and he's going to claim you. He's going to claim me. He's going to claim those who are alive. And he says, that person is mine. I want them with me forever. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. From that time on, we'll be with the Lord, Paul says.

On the prophetic calendar after the rapture of the church, there will be a seven-year tribulation period. Where are we going to be? We're going to be in heaven with Jesus. After the seven-year tribulation, there's going to be a thousand-year reign of Christ upon this earth. Where will we be? We'll be here on earth with Jesus as he reigns. After that thousand-year reign of Christ, we enter into eternity. Where will we be? With Jesus Christ for eternity. We shall always be with the Lord.

Paul says, I don't want you to be ignorant. Don't be uninformed about those who have fallen asleep. Those who believe in Jesus Christ, they are with the Lord. Our hope and guarantee is that those believers who have died really are in a better place with Jesus Christ right now. Our hope and guarantee is that we will see them again when we are caught up together with them in the clouds.

Our hope and guarantee is that God has something far greater than this life for us when we enter into eternity. Our hope and guarantee is that God has a new and perfect resurrected body for us. And our hope and guarantee is that we will be with Jesus forever. And the promise is that it can happen at any moment. The twinkling of an eye. The last trump. And we will be caught up to be with the Lord.

And Paul ends with verse 18. He says, Therefore, since all this is true, since we have this hope, since Jesus is coming quickly, since we could be with him at any moment, since we know that those who have died in him are with him and he's going to bring them with him and we're going to be caught up together. Therefore, since we know these things, since these things are true, he says, comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another with these words.

These are not words to terrify. These are not scare tactics. These are words of comfort. These are words for you and I to take a sigh of relief. We're going to be with Jesus. He has great things in store for us. Better things than we can imagine or know. Whether we die, whether we're raptured, we're going to be with him.

And we're going to spend the rest of eternity. We shall always be with the Lord. Comfort one another with these words. Listen, when there's someone around you, a believer in Jesus Christ, and they're hurting, they're down, as you share with people who are struggling, this is our hope.

This is our confident focus on eternity. Keep looking up, reminding each other, hey, look up, your redemption draws nigh. Reminding each other, look, sorrow is those who have no hope. It's okay to sorrow, but you're going to see them again. Remember, you get to join with them and unite together with them in the air with Jesus Christ and spend the rest of eternity with them together with Jesus Christ.

Remind one another. Comfort one another, Paul says, with these words. Remind each other that we are looking up because Jesus is coming to claim us as his own. He's going to quickly snatch us away. Hey, don't let him seize you by force because you're too deeply rooted in this earth. Comfort one another with these words. And so I want to close this morning with this. Comfort one another with these words. Normally we would have a worship song. Normally I would pray at the end.

We're not going to do that. Instead, take a moment. Find someone who's not related to you and comfort one another with these words. Before you leave this morning, take time to comfort someone else here in this body.

Let them know who you are looking forward to see. Let them know how excited you are about the coming of Jesus Christ. Let them know that they can have this confident focus, this expectation, this guarantee that we will be with Jesus together.

Paul as he wrote in first Thessalonians chapter 2 he says what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming and that's what I share with you this morning I can't wait to see you guys at the coming of Jesus Christ that's my hope that's my joy that's my crown of rejoicing to see you there let someone else know that's your hope take a moment and

and encourage one another with these words. If you need prayer, there's going to be people up here. We'd love to pray with you and encourage you. But at this time, service is over. You're dismissed. Comfort one another with these words. God bless you. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.