1 Thessalonians 4

The moral climate in the Roman Empire was not healthy. Immorality was a way of life; and, thanks to slavery, people had the leisure time to indulge in the latest pleasures. The Christian message of holy living was new to that culture, and it was not easy for these young believers to fight the temptations around them. Paul gave four reasons why they should live a holy life and abstain from sensual lusts.

To please God (v. 1). Everybody lives to please somebody. Many people live to please themselves. They have no sensitivity to the needs of others. “The soul of a journey,” wrote William Hazlitt, “is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases.” That advice may work for a vacation, but it could never work in the everyday affairs of life. Christians cannot go through life pleasing only themselves (Rom. 15:1).

We must also be careful when it comes to pleasing others. It is possible to both please others and honor God, but it is also possible to dishonor God. “For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). This had been Paul’s attitude when he ministered in Thessalonica. “Even so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who trieth our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4).

Pleasing God ought to be the major motive of the Christian life. Children should live to please their father. The Holy Spirit works in our lives “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Enoch walked with God, and before God called him to heaven, Enoch “had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Heb. 11:5). Jesus said, “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29).

Pleasing God means much more than simply doing God’s will. It is possible to obey God and yet not please Him. Jonah is a case in point. He obeyed God and did what he was commanded, but his heart was not in it. God blessed His Word, but He could not bless His servant. So Jonah sat outside the city of Nineveh angry with everybody, including the Lord! Our obedience should be “not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6).

How do we know what pleases God? How do we know what pleases an earthly father? By listening to him and living with him. As we read the Word, and as we fellowship in worship and service, we get to know the heart of God, and this opens us up to the will of God.

To obey God (vv. 2–3). When he ministered in Thessalonica, Paul gave the believers the commandments of God regarding personal purity. The word commandments is a military term. It refers to orders handed down from superior officers. We are soldiers in God’s army, and we must obey orders. “No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer” (2 Tim. 2: niv).

In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul reminded these new believers that sexual immorality did not please God. God created sex, and He has the authority to govern its use. From the beginning, He established marriage as a sacred union between one man and one woman. God created sex both for the continuance of the race and for the pleasure of the marriage partners. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure” (Heb. 13: niv). God’s commandments concerning sex are not for the purpose of robbing people of joy, but rather of protecting them that they might not lose their joy. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” builds a wall around marriage that makes the relationship not a prison, but a safe and beautiful garden.

We never have to seek to know the will of God in this matter, He has told us clearly. “Abstain from fornication” is His commandment, and no amount of liberal theology or modern philosophy can alter it. Throughout the Bible, God warns against sexual sin, and these warnings must be heeded. God’s purpose is our sanctification, that we might live separated lives in purity of mind and body.

To glorify God (vv. 4–5). This is the positive side of God’s commandment. Christians are supposed to be different from the unsaved. The Gentiles (unsaved) do not know God; therefore, they live ungodly lives. But we know God, and we are obligated to glorify Him in this world. “God’s plan is to make you holy, and that entails first of all a clean break with sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4: ph).

“Possess his vessel” in 1 Thessalonians 4: probably means “control his body,” for our bodies are the vessels of God (see 2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:20–21). But it can also mean “learn to live with his own wife,” for the wife is called “the weaker vessel” (1 Peter 3:7). I prefer the first interpretation, for Paul wrote to all Christians, not just the married ones. The Christian who commits sexual sin is sinning against his own body (1 Cor. 6:19–20), and he is robbing God of the glory He should receive through a believer’s way of life.

This explains why God gives such demanding requirements for spiritual leadership in the church (1 Tim. 3). If spiritual leaders cannot rule in their own homes, how can they lead the church? If we glorify God in our bodies, then we can glorify Him in the body that is the church.

To escape the judgment of God (vv. 6–8). God is no respecter of persons; He must deal with His children when they sin (Col. 3:23–25). A church member criticized her pastor because he was preaching against sin in the lives of Christians. “After all,” she said, “sin in the life of a believer is different from sin in the lives of unsaved people.”

“Yes,” replied the pastor, “it is worse.”

While it is true that the Christian is not under condemnation (John 5:24; Rom. 8:1), it is also true that he is not free from the harvest of sorrow that comes when we sow to the flesh (Gal. 6:7–8). When King David committed adultery, he tried to cover his sin, but God chastened him severely. (Read Ps. 32; 51 to see what he lost during those months.) When David confessed his sins, God forgave him, but God could not change the consequences. David reaped what he sowed, and it was a painful experience for him.

“But I am one of God’s elect!” a Christian may argue. “I belong to Him, and He can never cast me out.” Election is not an excuse for sin—it is an encouragement for holiness. “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (1 Thess. 4:7). “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy” (1 Peter 1:15). The privilege of election also involves responsibilities of obedience (Deut. 7:6, 11).

A holy walk involves a right relationship with God the Father (who called us), God the Son (who died for us), and God the Spirit (who lives within us). It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes our body the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19–20). Furthermore, it is by walking in the Spirit that we get victory over the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16ff.). To despise God’s commandments is to invite the judgment of God and also to grieve the Spirit of God.

How does the Spirit of God help us live a clean life, free from sexual impurity? To begin with, He creates holy desires within us so that we have an appetite for God’s pure Word (1 Peter 2:1–3) and not the polluted garbage of the flesh (Rom. 13:12–14). Also, He teaches us the Word and helps us to recall God’s promises in times of temptation (John 14:26; Eph. 6:17). As we yield to the Spirit, He empowers us to walk in holiness and not be detoured into the lusts of the world and the flesh. The fruit of the Spirit overcomes the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:16–26).

Paul devoted a great deal of space to this theme of sexual purity because it was a critical problem in the church of that day. It is also a critical problem in the church today. For many people, marriage vows are no longer considered sacred, and divorce (even among believers) is no longer governed by the Word of God. There are “gay churches” where homosexuals and lesbians “love one another” and claim to be Christians. Premarital sex and “Christian pornography” are accepted parts of the religious landscape in many places. Yet God has said, “Walk in holiness.”

Along with jogging, walking has become a popular exercise and outdoor sport. I often see individuals and entire families enjoying a walk in the park or in the forest preserves. When driving on the highway, I sometimes wave to “walking parties” heading for some distant rendezvous.

The Christian life can be compared to a walk. In fact, this is one of Paul’s favorite pictures: “Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Eph. 4:1); “walk not as other Gentiles walk” (Eph. 4:17); “walk in love” (Eph. 5:2); “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8).

The Christian life begins with a step of faith. But that step leads to a walk of faith: “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Walking suggests progress, and we must make progress in the Christian life (Phil. 3:13–16; Heb. 6:1). Walking also demands strength, and God has promised, “As thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deut. 33:25).

But we must be sure to “walk in the light” for the enemy has put traps and detours to catch us (1 John 1:5–7). Of course, at the end of life’s walk, we will step into the very presence of the Lord. “And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” (Gen. 5:24).

Paul described a threefold walk for the Christian to follow.

The transition from holiness to love is not a difficult one. Paul made this transition in his prayer recorded in 1 Thessalonians 3:11–13. Just as God’s love is a holy love, so our love for God and for one another ought to motivate us to holy living. The more we live like God, the more we will love one another. If a Christian really loves his brother, he will not sin against him (1 Thess. 4:6). There are four basic words for “love” in the Greek language. Eros refers to physical love; it gives us our English word erotic. Eros love does not have to be sinful, but in Paul’s day its main emphasis was sensual. This word is never used in the New Testament. Another word, storge (pronounced STOR-gay), refers to family love, the love of parents for their children. This word is also absent from our New Testament, although a related word is translated “kindly affectioned” in Romans 12:10.

The two words most used for love are philia (fil-EE-uh) and agape (a-GA-pay). Philia love is the love of deep affection, such as in friendship or even marriage. But agape love is the love God shows toward us. It is not simply a love based on feeling; it is expressed in our wills. Agape love treats others as God would treat them, regardless of feelings or personal preferences.

The word philadelphia is translated “brotherly love.” Because Christians belong to the same family, and have the same Father, they should love one another. In fact, we are “taught of God to love one another.” God the Father taught us to love each other when He gave Christ to die for us on the cross. “We love, because he first loved us” (1 John 4: niv). God the Son taught us to love one another when He said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another” (John 13:34). And the Holy Spirit taught us to love one another when He poured out the love of God in our hearts (Rom. 5:5) when we trusted Christ.

Have you noticed that animals do instinctively what is necessary to keep them alive and safe? Fish do not attend classes to learn how to swim (even though they swim in schools), and birds by nature put out their wings and flap them in order to fly. It is nature that determines action. Because a fish has a fish’s nature, it swims; because a hawk has a hawk’s nature, it flies. And because a Christian has God’s nature (2 Peter 1:4), he loves, because “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Faith, hope, and love had been the distinctive characteristics of the Thessalonican Christians from the beginning (1 Thess. 1:3). Timothy had reported the good news of their love (1 Thess. 3:6), so Paul was not exhorting them to acquire something they did not already possess. He was encouraging them to get more of what they already enjoyed. You can never have too much Christian love. Paul had prayed that their love might “increase and abound” (1 Thess. 3:12), and God answered that prayer (see 2 Thess. 1:3).

How does God cause our love to “increase more and more”? By putting us into circumstances that force us to practice Christian love. Love is the “circulatory system” of the body of Christ, but if our spiritual muscles are not exercised, the circulation is impaired. The difficulties that we believers have with one another are opportunities for us to grow in our love. This explains why Christians who have had the most problems with each other often end up loving one another deeply, much to the amazement of the world.

The word in 1 Thessalonians 4: that is translated “honestly” in our Authorized Version carries the meaning of “becomingly, in a seemly way.” It is translated “decently” in 1 Corinthians 14:40: “Let all things be done decently and in order.” The emphasis is on the believer’s witness to those who are outside the Christian fellowship. “Them that are without” is a familiar description of unbelievers.

Christians not only have the obligation to love one another but also to be good testimonies to the people of the world. Paul’s great concern was that the Thessalonican believers earn their own wages and not become freeloaders depending on the support of unbelievers. “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life” (1 Thess. 4: niv) seems like a paradox; if you are ambitious, your life will probably not be quiet. But the emphasis is on quietness of mind and heart, the inner peace that enables a man to be sufficient through faith in Christ. Paul did not want the saints running around creating problems as they earned their daily bread.

For the most part, the Greeks despised manual labor. Most of the work was done by slaves. Paul, of course, was a tentmaker, and he was careful in Thessalonica to set the example of hard work (see 1 Thess. 2:6; 2 Thess. 3:6ff.). Unfortunately, some of the new believers in the church misunderstood the doctrine of Christ’s return and gave up their jobs in order to wait for His coming. This meant that they were supported by other Christians, some of whom may not have had sufficient funds for their own families. It also meant that these fanatical people could not pay their bills, and therefore they lost their testimony with the unsaved merchants.

“My wife is going to have plastic surgery,” a man said to his friend. “I’m taking away all of her credit cards!” How easy it is to purchase things we do not need with money we do not have, and then lose not only our credit, but also our good Christian witness. “Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” (Luke 16: nasb). Churches and Christians who defend their orthodoxy but do not pay their bills have no orthodoxy to defend.

“Mind your own business and work with your hands” (1 Thess. 4: niv) was what Paul commanded them. Idle people spend their time interfering with the affairs of others and getting themselves and others into trouble. “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies” (2 Thess. 3: niv). “But let none of you suffer … as a busybody in other men’s matters” (1 Peter 4:15).

Believers who are about the Father’s business (Luke 2:49) do not have the time—or desire—to meddle in the affairs of others. Unfortunately, even a Bible class could become an opportunity for gossip (“so that you might pray more intelligently”) and a substitute for true Christian service.

As believers, we must be careful in our relationships with “those that are without.” It requires spiritual grace and wisdom to have contact without contamination and to be different without being judgmental and proud. “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without” (Col. 4:5). If we lack this spiritual wisdom, we will do more harm than good.

There are several good reasons why Christians should work, not the least of which is to provide for their own families (1 Tim. 5:8). If unsaved people have to work to pay their bills, why should Christians be exempt? We also work in order to be able to give to those who have need (Eph. 4:28), but “if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). Work is not a curse; it is a blessing. God gave Adam work to do in Paradise. It is the toil and sweat of work that belongs to the curse, and not the work itself (Gen. 2:15; 3:17ff.).

As we review this section, we see how practical the Christian walk really is. The obedient Christian will have a holy life by abstaining from sexual sin; a harmonious life by loving the brethren; and an honest life by working with his hands and not meddling in the affairs of others. When unsaved people see Christ magnified in this kind of a life, they will either oppose it with envy or desire to have it for themselves. Either way, God is glorified.

How can mortal man penetrate beyond the grave and find assurance and peace for his own heart? From Old Testament days till the present, mankind has tried to solve the riddle of death and the afterlife. Philosophers have wrestled with the question of immortality. Spiritists have tried to communicate with those who have gone beyond.

In our modern world, scientists have investigated the experiences of people who claimed to have died and returned to life again. They have also studied occult phenomena, hoping to find a clue to the mystery of life after death.

Paul solved the problem when he wrote, “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15). We Christians need not wonder about death or life after death, for we have a revelation from God in His Word. Why substitute human speculation for divine revelation?

It is important to note that the revelation concerning death and the afterlife was not given all at one time. Many cults use verses from the Psalms and Ecclesiastes to “prove” their false doctrines. These verses seem to teach that the grave is the end, or that the soul “sleeps” till the resurrection. We must keep in mind that God’s revelation was gradual and progressive, and that it climaxed in the coming of Christ “who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1: nasb). We look to Christ and the New Testament for the complete revelation concerning death.

God gave Paul a special revelation concerning the resurrection and the return of Christ (see 1 Cor. 15:51–54). What Paul taught agreed with what Jesus taught (John 5:24–29; 11:21–27). And God’s revelation is based on the historic fact of Christ’s resurrection. Since our Savior has conquered death, we need not fear death or the future (1 Cor. 15:12ff.). The authority of God’s Word gives us the assurance and comfort we need.

The pagan world in Paul’s day had no hope of life after death. A typical inscription on a grave demonstrates this fact: I was not I became I am not I care not

While some of the philosophers, such as Socrates, sought to prove happiness after death, the pagan world had no word of assurance.

The believers in Thessalonica were concerned about their loved ones who had died. What if the Lord should return? Would their deceased loved ones be handicapped in any way? Will those who are alive at His coming have an advantage over the believers who have died? In this paragraph, Paul answered their questions. He based his encouragement and comfort on five fundamental facts.

We have noted the emphasis on the return of Christ in the Thessalonian letters. Paul related Christ’s return to salvation (1 Thess. 1:9–10), service (1 Thess. 2:19–20), and stability (1 Thess. 3:11–13). In this paragraph, he related it to sorrow, and he showed how the doctrine of Christ’s return can comfort the brokenhearted.

Paul applied the word sleep to those believers who died. Jesus used the same expression (John 11:11–13). Paul was careful to state that Jesus died; the word sleep is not applied to His experience. It is because He died that we need not fear death.

However, Paul did not say that the soul went to sleep at death. He made it clear that the soul of the believer went to be with the Lord: “them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (1 Thess. 4:14). He cannot bring them when He returns unless they are with Him. It is not the soul that sleeps; it is the body. The Bible definition of death is given in James 2:26: “For as the body without the spirit is dead.” At death, the spirit leaves the body, and the body goes to sleep and no longer functions. The soul-spirit goes to be with the Lord, if the person has trusted Jesus Christ. “Absent from the body, and … present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8).

The fact of our Lord’s return is comfort to us in bereavement, because we know that He will bring with Him His people who have “died in the Lord.” I recall stating to a friend, “I hear you lost your wife. I’m very sorry.” He replied, “No, I didn’t lose her. You can’t lose something when you know where it is—and I know where she is!” On the authority of the Word of God, we also know what will happen: Jesus Christ will one day return and bring His people with Him.

When will this event occur? Nobody knows, and it is wrong to set dates. The fact that Paul used the pronoun “we” in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17 suggests that he expected to be alive when the Lord returned. Theologians call this the doctrine of the imminent return of Christ. Imminent means that it can happen at any moment. As Christians, we do not look for signs, nor must any special events transpire before the Lord can return. These great events will take place “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52).

Jesus Christ will return in the air, and this is where we shall meet Him (1 Thess. 4:17). Suddenly, millions of people will vanish! One summer a church camp staff staged an elaborate “rapture” while the camp director was off the grounds. When he returned, everybody was missing, clothing was on the ground as though people had “passed through” it, a motorboat was circling on the lake without pilot or passengers, and everything in the kitchen was functioning without a cook. A carefully timed phone call from town (“Hey, what’s happening? Everybody’s missing over here!”) only added to the effect. “I’ve got to admit,” said the director, “it really shook me for a minute.” Just think of what effect this event will have on a lost world!

Whether we Christians live or die, we have nothing to fear because Jesus will come either with us or for us! The fact of His return is a comfort to our hearts.

When Paul preached the doctrine of the resurrection to the Athenian philosophers, most of them mocked him (Acts 17:32). To the Greeks, being rid of the body was their great hope. Why would any man want to have his body resurrected? Furthermore, how could his body be resurrected, when the elements of the body would decay and become a part of the earth? To them, the doctrine of resurrection was foolish and impossible.

When Jesus Christ returns in the air, He will issue the “shout of command” and the “dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). This does not mean that He will put the elements of the body together again, for resurrection is not “reconstruction.” Paul argued for the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:35ff. He pointed out that the resurrection of the human body is like the growing of a plant from a seed. The flower is not the identical seed that was planted, yet there is continuity from seed to plant. Christians shall receive glorified bodies, like the glorified body of Christ (Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Cor. 15:47–58). The dead body is the “seed” that is planted in the ground; the resurrection body is the “flower” that comes from that seed.

Passages like John 5:28–29 and Revelation 20:1–6 indicate that there are two resurrections in the future. When Jesus Christ returns in the air, He will call to Himself only those who are saved through faith in Him. This is called “the first resurrection” or “the resurrection of life.” At the end of time, just before God ushers in the new heaven and earth, there will be another resurrection. This is called “the second resurrection” or “the resurrection of judgment.” Between these two events, I believe that the tribulation on earth and the thousand-year-kingdom will occur.

In Paul’s day, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees did not (Acts 23:8). Jesus taught the doctrine of the resurrection and silenced the Sadducees (Matt. 22:23–33). The Old Testament Scriptures taught this doctrine (Job 14:13–15; 19:23–27; Ps. 16:9–11; Dan. 12:2). The fact that Jesus arose from the dead proves that there is a resurrection.

Three unique sounds will be involved in this event: the Lord’s shout, the sound of the trumpet, and the voice of the archangel. Jesus Christ will give “a shout of command,” just as He did outside the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:43). Those “in the graves shall hear his voice” (John 5:28).

First Corinthians 15: also relates His return to the sound of a trumpet. The Jewish people were familiar with trumpets, because trumpets were used to declare war, to announce special times and seasons, and to gather the people for a journey (see Num. 10). In the Roman Empire, trumpets were used to announce the arrival of a great person. When God gave the law to Israel, the event was preceded by a trumpet blast (Ex. 19:18–20).

Why “the voice of the archangel”? The only archangel who is named in the Bible is Michael (Jude 9), who apparently has a special ministry to Israel (Dan. 10:21; Rev. 12:7). According to Daniel 10:13, there is more than one archangel; so we cannot be sure that it will be Michael’s voice. At any rate, the angelic hosts will share in the victory shout when Jesus Christ comes.

The Christian doctrine of resurrection assures us that death is not the end. The grave is not the end. The body goes to sleep, but the soul goes to be with the Lord (Phil. 1:20–24). When the Lord returns, He will bring the soul with Him, will raise the body in glory, and will unite body and soul into one being to share His glory forever. This leads us to the fourth fact that gives us comfort and assurance in the face of death.

The word rapture is not used in this section, but that is the literal meaning of “caught up.” The Latin word rapto means “to seize, to carry off,” and from it we get our English word rapture.

I once heard the Greek scholar Dr. Kenneth S. Wuest preach on this passage and explain the various meanings of the Greek word that is translated “caught up” in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Each of these meanings adds a special truth to the doctrine of our Lord’s return.

“To catch away speedily.” This is the translation in Acts 8:39, where the Spirit “caught away Philip” after he had led the Ethiopian to Christ. When the Lord returns in the air, we who are alive will be caught away quickly, in the twinkling of an eye. This means we should live each moment in the expectation of our Lord’s return, lest He come and find us out of His will (1 John 3:1–3).

“To seize by force.” See John 6:15. Does this suggest that Satan and his armies will try to keep us from leaving the earth? I trust it does not suggest that some of the saints will be so attached to the world that they must literally be dragged away. Like Lot being delivered from Sodom, they will be scarcely saved (Gen. 19:16).

“To claim for one’s own self.” This views the rapture from our Lord’s point of view as He comes to claim His bride.

“To move to a new place.” Paul used this word when he described his visit to heaven (2 Cor. 12:1–4). Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a home for us (John 14:1–6), and when He comes, He will take us to that glorious place. We are pilgrims and strangers in this world. Our true citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20–21).

“To rescue from danger.” See Acts 23:10. This suggests that the church will be taken home before the time of tribulation that will come to the world from God. First Thessalonians 1:10; 5: seem to state this clearly.

Will the unsaved world be aware of what is happening? Will they hear the shout, the voice, and the trumpet? First Corinthians 15: indicates that this will happen so suddenly that it will be over in the twinkling of an eye. Since the shout, voice, and trumpet apply to God’s people, there is no reason to believe that the unsaved masses will hear them. If they do, they will hear sounds without meanings (see John 12:27–30). Millions of people will vanish instantly, and no doubt there will be chaos and great concern. Except for those who know the Bible teaching, the world will wonder at what has happened.

You and I shall meet the Lord in the air, in person, when He comes for us. The Greek word translated “meet” carries the idea of meeting a royal person or an important person. We have walked with Christ by faith here on earth, but in the air we shall “see him as he is” and become like Him (1 John 3:1–2). What a meeting that will be!

It will be a glorious meeting, because we shall have glorified bodies. When He was here on earth, Jesus prayed that we might one day see His glory and share in it (John 17:22–24). The suffering that we endure today will be transformed into glory when He returns (Rom. 8:17–19; 2 Cor. 4:17–18).

It will be an everlasting meeting, for we shall be “forever with the Lord.” This was His promise: “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3). The goal of redemption is not just to rescue us from judgment, but to relate us to Christ.

Our meeting with the Lord will also be a time of reckoning. This is called “the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10). The Greek word bema, which is translated “judgment seat,” referred to the place where the Olympic judges awarded crowns to the winners. Our works will be judged and rewards will be given (1 Cor. 3:8–15).

The judgment seat of Christ must not be confused with the White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 20:11–15. You may contrast these two important events as follows: Judgment Seat of Christ White Throne Judgment Only believers Only unbelievers Immediately after the After the thousand-year rapture kingdom Determines rewards for Determines amount of service judgment

We will not only meet our Lord Jesus Christ at the rapture, but will also be reunited with our believing friends and loved ones who have died. “Together with them” is a great statement of encouragement. Death is the great separator, but Jesus Christ is the great Reconciler.

The Bible does not reveal all the details of this reunion. When Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead, He tenderly “delivered him to his mother” (Luke 7:15). This suggests that our Lord will have the happy ministry of reuniting broken families and friendships.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, the three disciples knew and recognized Moses and Elijah (Matt. 17:1–5). Certainly, the saints will know each other in glory, including believers we have never met. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Cor. 13:12).

In the next chapter, we will see how Paul related this doctrine of the return of Christ to the unsaved. But it would be good for us now to examine our own hearts to see if we are ready to meet the Lord. One mark of a true Christian is his eager looking for the coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:10). As we grow in the Lord, we not only look for His appearing, but we love His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). Because we have this hope in Him, we keep our lives pure so that we may not be ashamed at His coming (1 John 2:28—3:3).

Godly Presbyterian preacher Robert Murray McCheyne used to ask people, “Do you think Jesus Christ will return today?” Most of them would reply, “No, not today.” Then McCheyne would say, “Then, my friend, you had better be ready; for He is coming at such an hour as ye think not” (Luke 12:40).

Death is a fact of life. The only way we can escape death is to be alive when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Death is not an accident; it is an appointment: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). If you should die today, where would your soul go?

I once saw a quaint inscription on a gravestone in an old British cemetery not far from Windsor Castle. It read, Pause, my friend, as you walk by; As you are now, so once was I. As I am now, so you will be. Prepare, my friend, to follow me!

I heard about a visitor who read that epitaph and added these lines: To follow you is not my intent, Until I know which way you went!

We Christians have wonderful assurance and hope, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His promised return.

Do you have that hope today?

Which way are you going?