Day #339
Scripture Reading: I Thessalonians 4 -
5 …
It seems we often forget the context in which the
New Testament was written, and in doing so we miss the intensity and urgency of
the message we read in the letters to the churches. These early believers needed God, they needed
each other and they needed encouragement to persevere … so do we!!
Paul cared for these
people and about the lives they were living for the Lord. He continues his letter by speaking very
personally, "We instructed you how to live in order to please God, as
in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to
do this more and more" (4:1). Spiritual growth is necessary for all
believers. "It is God's will that you should be sanctified!” (4:3). To be "sanctified" means
"to be set apart as holy." "For God did not call
us to be impure, but to live a holy life" (4:7). (4:7). The result of the Holy Spirit living within
us is the constant pursuit of holiness. Paul emphasizes this truth by
saying, "He who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God,
who gives you His Holy Spirit" (4:8).
As we live in this world we all need encouragement
to live by the power of the Spirit who is at work within us. And there is
no greater encouragement than the knowledge of what lies ahead: the
return of Jesus and our future with Him. These early believers may have thought
Jesus would return in their lifetime, but now some had died. Would they
miss the coming of God's kingdom? Paul assures them that such is not the
case. He tells them not to "grieve like the rest of men, who have
no hope" (4:13). Why? Because "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" (4:14). Not all will be
saved, but those who are in Christ, who have been united to Him by true faith,
will not miss what God has promised.
The following verses describe the Rapture of
believers, the same event mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:30-31 and other
places. There is much debate about the timing of the rapture - when it
will occur, but note what Paul says here: "About times and dates
we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night While people are saying, 'Peace and
safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant
woman, and they will not escape" (5:1-3). Many have read these verses
and determined that the Rapture will be a secret event as people simply
disappear. After all, Jesus said we would not know the day or the hour of
His return, so we can't know when it will happen. But wait, there's more!
"But YOU, brothers, are NOT in darkness so
that this day should surprise YOU like a thief!" (5:4).
There is not time here to go into all the signs Scripture gives us that
will point to Jesus' return, but we need to understand that the true believers
who are alive on the earth for the Rapture will be eagerly anticipating that
moment when the voice of the archangel thunders and the trumpet call is
sounded! We do not know the day or the hour, but we WILL know the time. The events of the world around us point to
the soon return of Jesus, but there are still some events that must take place,
according to the Scriptures. It's almost time … but not yet.
Difficult times lie ahead for the true Church, as they did for the
believers then. So how do we live?
"Let us not be like others, who are asleep,
but let us be alert and self-controlled" (5:6).
Most people today are spiritually "asleep," spiritually DEAD!
They think nothing of God, they do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord, and
they live to please themselves rather than living to please God. Paul writes, "Since
WE belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as
a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet" (5:8). We who believe in Jesus Christ
KNOW this life is not all there is … that in fact, we have an eternity with
Jesus in a new heavens and a new earth to look forward to. So Paul writes,
"Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are
doing!" (5:11).
And we can’t skip verse 9: "For God
did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ." This verse been understood to mean that we will
avoid the time of great distress, what some have labeled "the Great
Tribulation." Believing this time of tribulation and distress is
the wrath of God, many wrongly believe that the Rapture could take place at any
time, followed by seven years of God's wrath. However, the time of God's
wrath is called throughout Scripture, "the day of the Lord."
This period of wrath does follow the Rapture, but the time of tribulation and
distress Jesus talks about in Matthew 24:21-22, and that Paul teaches about in
II Thessalonians 2:1-12, precedes the Rapture of the Church.
This means the last generation of believers will
endure extreme suffering and persecution and must be ready for that to happen.
Those who anticipate an easy road
to heaven will fall away, for their hope is NOT in Christ. Jesus says to
the churches in Revelation 2-3, "to him who overcomes …" God
is calling His true Church today to be awake, to be alert, to be
self-controlled, to labor for His kingdom, to put HIM first … knowing that
whether we die before He comes or are alive at His return, we shall meet Him in
the air and be with Him FOREVER!!!
So God says, "Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you
in Christ Jesus" (5:16-18). As much as you are doing that today,
do it more! And "may God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you
is faithful and He will do it!" (5:23-24).
"Encourage each other with these words!"
(4:18).
"Heavenly Father, Your Word speaks truth that
our hearts long to embrace, for in Your Word is hope beyond the scope of this
world. The hope You offer is eternal and by Your grace I rest assured
that I will live in Your perfect presence forever in a perfect new world of
Your making. I rejoice in Jesus Christ and ask You to fill me constantly
with Your Spirit, that I may live a life pleasing to You in all things and be
an example to others as we await the day of Jesus' return. In Jesus'
name, Amen"
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