By: Dale Weckbacher
1 Thessalonians 4:18
Therefore encourage
one another with these words.
(ESV)
In a world dominated by hatred, strife, and religious
persecution, a word of encouragement is a welcome sight. Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4:18 were
directed at the persecuted believers in Thessalonica, and I believe they apply
to us living for Christ today.
Therefore, let us take a moment to look at the words Paul told those in
Thessalonica so we can use them to encourage one another today.
Paul begins by addressing the question of whether believers
who died prior to the second coming of Christ would participate in the second
coming (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Due to
his having to leave before completing his teaching. Apparently, the new believers in Thessalonica
lacked understanding about what happened to believers who died prior to the
second coming. Perhaps there was a false
teaching that those who died prior to the second coming of Christ would miss
out on the second coming of Christ. For
those living in Thessalonica who experienced the death of believing friends and
family, this teaching would have represented a major discouragement.
While this teaching of the dead in Christ missing out on the
second coming is not prevalent in the church today, there are false teachings
that can discourage us such as,
1)
We can have no assurance of our salvation – I
was raised in a church that taught if we sinned, we would lose our
salvation. It was therefore necessary to
confess that sin before something tragic might happen to us causing us to die
unsaved and be eternally dammed to hell.
While 1 John 1:9 does tell us that confession of sins is necessary for
us to receive forgiveness, the verse is in the context of John addressing
believers that had lost their fellowship with God due to sin in their lives, urging
them to confess their sin for restoration to full fellowship with God. It is therefore not necessary for us to be
saved all over again and live in fear of possibly dying before we do this but
it is only necessary for us to seek forgiveness to be restored to fellowship
with God. This provided great
encouragement to me for it freed me from living in constant fear of losing my
salvation and allowed me to achieve closer fellowship with God my creator.
2)
Christians must endure the coming Great
Tribulation – The debate about whether the church will go through the Great
Tribulation or be taken away before it occurs is as old as the church
itself. Some claim that since 1Corinthians 15:52 states that Christ will take both those living and the dead
in Christ with him at the sound of the last trumpet, and since Revelations
speaks of seven trumpets sounding during the Great Tribulation, Jesus return
for His church must occur after the Great Tribulation. (1) Others however, I believe Jesus will return
for, or rapture His church or bride prior to the Great Tribulation due to
scripture telling us (2)
a.
Jesus is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-4) (2) – A Jewish groom would
leave to prepare a place for him and his bride to live in. After completion of this place, the groom
would suddenly return for his bride.
Since the Great Tribulation period is clearly defined as a seven-year
period commencing on an agreement between Israel and the Antichrist, it would
not be surprising to Christians having this knowledge that were forced to go
through it.
c.
The “rapture” is a quantum event (1 Corinthians15:51-53) (2) – Jesus returns
after defeating the Antichrist and will be seen by the entire world. However, the rapture occurs in the blink of
an eye and only seen by those who have either died in Christ or are alive
believing in Jesus as their savior.
Therefore, the rapture and the second coming of Christ to establish His
Millennial Kingdom must be two separate events occurring at separate times.
d.
The “rapture” is a rescue, not a judgment
(Revelation 3:10) (2) – The events of the
Great Tribulation are a time of judgment on the world like the judgment of the
plagues of Egypt (Exodus 7-12, Revelation 5-18). Since Revelation 3:10 promises that the
church will escape this time of global judgment, we can surmise this means the
church will not be present on the globe during the Great Tribulation.
e.
Paul taught a pre-tribulation rapture (1Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) (2)
f.
The Church is not mentioned in Revelation 4-22 (2) – The only reason
for the church to be absent during this time when it is the main focus of the rest
of the New Testament prior to this time is that it is no longer present.
For this reason, I believe Jesus
will return to rapture His church prior to the Great Tribulation and find great
comfort and encouragement in knowing this.
3)
The Bible contains errors and contradictions – We
live in a world of constant change.
Those like myself that live in the United States face this fact each
election cycle. The Word of God,
however, is unchanging and provides a stable rock upon which to anchor our
souls. For this reason, any presumed contradiction
or error is disturbing to Christians as it represents a crack in the stable
rock upon which they have anchored their life.
The good news for Christians is that when these presumed errors and
contradictions are viewed in context, referring to the original text, and when
the audience to which the text is addressed is considered, the contradiction
vanishes. For example, Ephesians 2:8
tells us that we are not saved by our own works but by the work of Jesus on the
cross. However, James 2:20 tells us that
faith without works is dead. While this
appears to be a contradiction, Paul is explaining the process of salvation
through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross providing salvation for sins while
James is addressing those who are believers already, encouraging them to
demonstrate good works because of the grace extended to them through the
finished work of Jesus on the cross. No
contradiction here for both passages are addressed to different audiences in
different contexts.
Satan will always insure there is false teaching designed to
discourage God’s people. Therefore, it
is important for God’s people to expose themselves to the truth of God’s word
so it can shed light on the lies of Satan.
We must also set aside a time of solitude with God each day, even if
just a few minutes, to talk with him and allow Him to speak with us through His
Word. We also must find encouragement in
knowing Jesus is going to return for His church (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
1. Steps Toward the Mark of the Beast. Why I
Believe the Church Will Go Through the Great Tribulation. www.stepstowardthemark.com.
[Online] [Cited: October 23, 2016.]
http://www.stepstowardthemark.com/id10.html.
2. Bible Truths.
7 reasons the church will not go through the tribulation. www.bibletruths.org.
[Online] Bible Truths, June 7, 2015. [Cited: October 23, 2016.]
http://www.bibletruths.org/7-reasons-the-church-will-not-go-through-the-tribulation/.
No comments:
Post a Comment