Wednesday: At the Sound of the Trumpet
The Thessalonians were convinced that eternal life would be granted exclusively to those who would remain alive until the Second Coming. “They had carefully guarded the lives of their friends, lest they should die and lose the blessing which they looked forward to receiving at the coming of their Lord. But one after another their loved ones had been taken from them, and with anguish the Thessalonians had looked for the last time upon the faces of their dead, hardly daring to hope to meet them in a future life.” — Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 258.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. How did Paul correct this misconception?
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There is a historical tendency to read into the expression, “bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, NKJV) more than the text is saying. Many who accept the theory of the natural immortality of the soul suggest that Christ, at His second coming, will bring with Him from heaven the souls of the righteous dead who are already in heaven with God. Those souls thus can be reunited with their respective resurrected bodies. But such an interpretation is not in harmony with the overall teachings of Paul on the subject.
Read the words of this non-Adventist theologian on the real meaning of this verse: “The reason why the Thessalonian Christians can have hope as they grieve for the dead members of their church is that God ‘will bring’ them, that is, he will resurrect these deceased believers and cause them to be present at Christ‘s return, such that they will be ‘with him.’ The implication is that these deceased believers will not be at some kind of disadvantage at the parousia of Christ but will be ‘with him’ in such a way that they share equally with living believers in the glory associated with his return.” — Jeffrey A. D. Weima, 1-2 Thessalonians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), p. 319.
If the souls of the righteous dead were already with the Lord in heaven, Paul would not need to mention the final resurrection as the Christian hope; he could have just mentioned that the righteous were already with the Lord. But, instead, he says that “those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, NKJV) would be resurrected from the dead at the end of time.
The hope in the final resurrection brought comfort to the grieving Thessalonians. The same hope can help us face with confidence the painful moments when the cold grip of death takes our loved ones from us.
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We should have this hope to meet with all our loved ones at Christ's second coming, by the resurrection of any who died believing in Jesus. That is very comforting. But even better than that will be the opportunity to meet Jesus physically. Seeing the loved ones and going to a place of great and perfect peace will only count if we understand that everything was prepared because of love for us, the love of a God who is three, so we can feel safe in any situation, whenever we need a parent, a lawyer and a friend/companion.
For that is the REAL definition of heaven: to know Him and live in His presence without a veil, mirror, etc.
After reading today's lesson, I feel differently when reading 1 Thess 4:13-18!
It is very comforting when you think of a loved one whom you know lived with the Lord and you will meet when the last trumpet will sound. How it breaks the heart when you remember one, say brother or mother, died and you well know they weren't with the Lord. I think this will be one of the reasons God will take His time to wipe away our tears.
This our belief of this study, as depicted by the author, is so in grained in me that I may take take it for granted, but I wonder, what can I offer that would facilitate another who believes opposite of what is so ingrained in me? The information, experiences, and testimonies, of authors and bloggers this week and every week, invigorate our intellect, and refresh our memories at the very least, which prepare us to give account of our faith and belief, as Peter instructed. 1 Peter 3:15. The rest is left to the work of the Holy Spirit. We are getting that this quarter, and yes of course every quarter. I believe it's two-fold: a personal uplifting of our relationship, and an enhanced preparedness of our belief.
I find this text apropos to this week's lesson, including Thursday's.
"Bring with Him" not only means resurrect, but also bring with Him back to heaven, as I see it. Yes, of course He must resurrect before bringing with Him. Those of us who may be standing will also be resurrected, changed if you prefer, from mortality to immortality. It's much the same; as we lie in the grave, we are changed from dust to a living being.
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Just to share some insight on what was likely prompting Paul to write 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. There were two persons, Hymenaeus and Philetus, who were spreading a conspiracy theory that the resurrection had already occurred (kind of a first century secret rapture). (2 Timothy 2:16-18.) This was Paul's second mention of Hymeneus in his letters to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:20 is the first).
Sadly, it seems that "alternate facts" and conspiracy theories are the staple of some religious circles of influence.
The next to last paragraph…”If the souls of the righteous dead were already with the LORD in Heaven…”
Replace “already” with asleep. Could this possibly be a valid understanding of the text? Our souls: character: consequence of life experiences, beliefs and resulting actions…character? The soul of a believer that died? Kept safe by the Creator to restore into an immortal/incorruptible resurrected body, free from the infection of sin?
Hi, Gary.
To me, personally, your idea seems harmless, and good in many ways. However, I might question your equating the character with the soul. Adam was created as a living soul before he had any opportunity to develop character.
The Bible uses the concept of the common grave of mankind ("sheol" in Hebrew, and "hades" in Greek) as the place where our soul sleeps. That poetic interpretation doubtless aids in our understanding that the souls (i.e. the individual existence) of the wicked -- who will also be resurrected -- never go to heaven.
Nevertheless, our soul and our spirit (the latter of which Seventh-day Adventist pioneer, Ellen White, interestingly equates with our character) are certainly kept safe by the Creator for their introduction into an immortal body for the resumption of our conscious existence.
It has been suggested that the book of life (righteous names) represents God’s saving of each man’s character, because names have meaning and often describe the character of the person. That is why God changes the name of some after their spiritual change.