1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Believers Who Have Died
13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For 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. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
This is not a passage about the Rapture. "Rapture" is the popular term for a moment when all of God's people are taken to where God is, leaving the rest of humanity behind. The word doesn't appear in the Bible, and the Bible's vision for the future points the other way. From Jesus' announcement in the Gospels ("The kingdom of God has come near," Mark 1:15) to the vision in Revelation ("Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth," Rev. 21:1), the Bible speaks of God's space and our space coming together, not splitting apart.
The good news in this passage is twofold.
First, because Jesus has been raised from the dead, those who are in Christ do not need to fear death, for we too will be raised.
Second, Paul is again telling us of God's desire to be with us and not far from us. This coming together of God's space and our space is exactly what we long for when we pray the Lord's Prayer. Paul promises his friends that the vision Jesus gave them in that prayer will come true and that they will be in God's presence always. That was a real comfort, given the troubles and persecution they were enduring.
We too will face trials and troubles because of our faith, and the same good news is true for us. In Jesus, God has made a way for us even through death, and it has always been God's heart to stay close to us in the middle of our troubles.
As a result, like the Thessalonians, we do not have to struggle in vain. We get to live as people of hope, because Jesus is alive.
– Pr. Jason
Jesus, thank you for being our living hope. Fill me with reassurance when I feel faint and courage when I feel afraid. Amen.
