First Letter to the Thessalonians ~ Part 7

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 We pause our ongoing story of Sha’ul’s Second Missionary Journey as we dig into his first letter to the Thessalonians while in Corinth.

Yeshua’s Second Coming

 The Rapture of the Saints

Some in Thessalonica expected the return of Yeshua and the end of history so imminently that they stopped working (v. 11) – just like the cults that appear from time to time announcing that Yeshua is coming back on such-and-such a date: “Sell all your goods! Head for the hills!” Others in Thessalonica seemed unsure of the fate of Believers in Yeshua who had died. Sha’ul knew such uncertainty could wreak havoc with Messianic faith – compare 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. Still others may have been diverted by some false teaching (see 2 Thess. 2:1–3).

Some of us can relate to the Believers in Thessalonica. The older we get, the closer His coming gets. Many of us, in our minds, think it can’t get any worse than it is now. But for those of us who are Baby Boomers, we long for the past. Yet, our mission is to prepare the current generation for His coming, whether today or another few millennia away.

¹³ Now, brothers, we want you to know the truth about those who have died; otherwise, you might become sad the way other people ¹⁴ do who have nothing to hope for. For since we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, we also believe that in the same way, God, through Yeshua, will take with him those who have died.

Yeshua’s resurrection revealed what resurrection will be like for those who have died. We can partially understand the nature of our bodily resurrection by reading about His (Luke 24:36–43).

¹⁵ When we say this, we base it on the Lord’s own word: (emphasis added) we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God’s shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise; ¹⁷ then we who are left still alive will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words.

This event, the coming of Yeshua to raise first those who have died and afterward us who are left still alive, is known in some Protestant circles as “the Rapture of the Church” (although the word “rapture,” like the word “trinity,” does not appear in the Brit Hadashah). Opinions differ as to when, in the scheme of future history, it will take place or whether it will take place at all.

The Day of the Lord

5 ¹ But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; ² because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape.

Only the Father knows the times and dates when this will happen (Mattityahu 24:36), and you have no need to know them (Acts 1:7). You need only to be prepared (Mattityahu 24:44, 25:13) since, using a comparison made by Yeshua Himself (Mattityahu 24:43), the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (the analogy is also used at 2 Kefa 3:10). The expression, “the Day of the Lord,” is from the Tanakh (Amos 5:18–20; Isaiah 2:9; Zephaniah 1:7ff., 14ff.; 2:2–3; 3:8).

⁴ But you, brothers, are not in the dark so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief; ⁵ for you are all people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We don’t belong to the night or to darkness,

A play on words: the Day of Judgment won’t take Believers by surprise since they are not in the dark about it, nor does the brightness of the day surprise people who belong to the light.

⁶ so let’s not be asleep like the rest are; on the contrary, let us stay alert and sober. ⁷ People who sleep, sleep at night; and people who get drunk, get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us stay sober, putting on trust and love as a breastplate and the hope of being delivered as a helmet. ⁹ For God has not intended that we should experience his fury, but that we should gain deliverance through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, ¹⁰ who died on our behalf so that whether we are alive or dead, we may live along with him. ¹¹ Therefore, encourage each other, and build each other up—just as you are doing. ^[1]

In our next post, we will continue to explore Shaul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians beginning in 1 Thess. 5:12.

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^[1] 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11.