We give thanks to God always for you all,
making mention of you in our prayers,
remembering without ceasing
your work of faith,
labor of love,
and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ
in the sight of our God and Father,
knowing, beloved brethren,
your election by God.
1 Thessalonians 1:4, NKJV
Someone had died.
Perhaps it was someone's beloved wife, or someone's favorite uncle. Perhaps it was the old grandmother of the church that everyone respected and greatly loved. We aren't told in Scripture who it was, or how they died. In fact, we're not even told specifically that they had died. It is simply something inferred from the First Thessalonian letter. Paul had spent three weeks telling those believers that whoever believed in Jesus would not die, but rather would have eternal life and and bypass death through the Rapture when Jesus came back. Then he left, and someone died in Thessalonica, leaving these brand new Christians with lots of burning questions about life, death, and after.
In First and Second Thessalonians, Paul mentions the return of the Lord at least eight times--once in each of the modern chapter divisions. In most cases it's just a sentence. Once in each letter he spends a rather lengthy passage explaining his eschatology. And we need to keep in mind that, as an epistle written by an apostle a mere 20 years after Jesus went to heaven, this is the first written teaching of the church's beliefs regarding the rapture, the resurrection and the return of Christ. In the next several posts, I'm going to break down each mention of Christ's return and show 68 key facts that reveal what Paul taught about the events of the last days and the end of the age.
1. Jesus is Coming. That the Apostles and first Christians believed this is no surprise. It was the promise of Jesus to come back for his followers, it was the expectation of the Apostles that it would happen in their lifetime--or at least within the lifespan of the Apostle John--and it should be our anticipation today.
2. Paul praised the believers for their continual anticipation of Christ's return. As believers in Jesus Christ, we should be offering ourselves to God and His people in good works that spring from our faith and love, as well as keeping our eyes on the skies as we wait for Him in persevering hope.
For they themselves declare concerning us
what manner of entry we had to you,
and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
and to wait for His son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:10
3. Part of the Christian experience is waiting for Christ's return. Once we have turned from our former lives of sin and desperation, our new lives should be devoted to waiting for Jesus to come again.
4. Jesus is coming from heaven.
5. Jesus is coming to deliver us from the wrath to come...which introduces us to another end-time concept--
6. Wrath is coming too. Throughout the Bible, two concepts are inseparably joined together--the Lord is coming to rescue the righteous, and pour his wrath out on the wicked.
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Is it not even you
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?
For you are our glory and joy.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
7. Jesus is coming to reward us for the people who received Him through our ministry. Here Paul names one of five crowns mentioned in the New Testament that is available to believers, this crown of rejoicing rewarded to those Christians who have brought others to Jesus. Other crowns are the imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:25) given to those who run the race of faith and finish it well; the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8) given to those who have anticipated and loved the return of Christ; the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4) given to those who ministered faithfully to the people of God; and the crown of life (Revelation 2:10) given to those who suffer martyrdom for the cause of Jesus Christ.
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love
to one another and to all, just as we do to you,
so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
8. Jesus is coming to establish us in perfection. Holiness and blamelessness are the goals we strive toward in this life, but we need to understand the most perfect we will be while on this planet is not when we cease doing the wrong things and always do the right things, but rather when we stand forgiven by the grace of God given us through Jesus Christ. And one day, Jesus will come for us and we will then be made again in His image and after His likeness, changed to sin no more.
9. Jesus is coming, and He will present us perfect before God. This is the first hint we get about how this coming of Jesus Christ fits into the larger body of prophetic and apocalyptic literature in the Bible. When Jesus comes for us, it will not be to establish His kingdom on earth. It will be to take us back to heaven to stand before God.
10. Jesus is coming, and all of His saints will be with Him. Jesus will not be coming alone. He will be accompanied by all of the Old Testament saints, who were resurrected with Him and taken to heaven 2000 years ago. What a grand parade that is going to be!
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