Believers who have died

We had a bit of discussion last week about some of the traditions some churches follow. Churches all over the place more or less follow a church calendar and one reason for doing so is that they can be sure to give some thought to as full a range of Bible teaching as they can. Today is the second Sunday in Advent. Advent means the coming or arrival of something or someone that is important or worthy of note.

For example each year we celebrate again the advent, the coming of Christ. Each Christmas we remind ourselves that he was born the only begotten son of God in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago. He came as God in human form, Emmanuel, God with us.

But we also confidently celebrate his second coming, an event he promised we would not miss. He said that it will happen at a time of God the Father’s own choosing.

Now, if we are seriously considering Christ’s second coming then the go-to book is the book called Revelation, the last book in the Bible. 

St John the Apostle was given visions and messages, a revelation, about what was coming in the future and especially what would happen at the time Jesus returned. He was told that Jesus would come back to finally and totally destroy satan and all evil but with the good news that he would welcome his followers to eternal peace and joy.

Because it hasn’t happened yet there’s plenty of sermons and books about the book of Revelation and there has been such a multitude of interpretations and theories people have come up with.

You can go into this more fully if you like but there is so much in Revelation and in books like Daniel which are things yet to happen which is great if you love interpretation and speculation and lots of terms and words.  

As for me, I don’t enjoy delving into theories and speculation.  I know it’s going to happen and that I won’t miss out on it so I have decided to wait and see exactly how it all turns out.

In the book of Revelation we are told of extraordinary and wonderful events which are so mysterious that they are beyond our understanding and experience. However, the message is really straightforward in other parts of the Bible such as in the Gospels and in Paul’s letters. It was important for the Bible writers that we would be encouraged by the wonderfull knowledge that Jesus most certainly will return.

One clear description of Jesus return is in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

In some Bible versions there are headings added to the passage to summarise the message. The heading used for this passage shows why it is a very relevant passage. It is about Believers who have died.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

In this passage in Thessalonians we are given great comfort when we think not only about our own inevitable death but also when we think about those who have died already. Don’t be uninformed about those who have died, this passage says. 

Of course we grieve for them but we don’t grieve with the hopelessness of those who do not know Jesus. The fact of Jesus death is unavoidable but the fact of Jesus resurrection brings us hope. Death, our death and the death of those we love is inevitable, unavoidable, but it’s grievous. 

We find hope even in our grief in the fact of Jesus resurrection because it tells us that our own resurrection will happen, too.  It’s not the end! But wait - there’s more!.

We know that Jesus died and rose again, and so we know that God will bring Jesus back but that he won’t be on his own when he comes.  When Jesus returns he will bring with him those who have died! 

The passage refers to those who sleep in death and that raises one of those questions about what happens to you when you die, just what is the situation of those who have died. This question has been discussed and theorised for generations. Unfortunately there is no clear answer so each of us must imagine what the answer is.

Perhaps it’s as simple as it says it is. When we die we sleep in death.

But we are told that those who have preceded us into death have a certain priority over those of us who are still alive.

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

One thing that is clear is that when Jesus returns we won’t miss it.

When he comes down from heaven he comes with a loud command! An archangel’s voice is unmissable! The trumpet call of God demands attention! There’s nothing vague or mystical about this event!

You can read about how dramatic this will be when you look in the various passages about it.

And it will be a dramatic day for absolutely everyone - Christian believer or not!

The thing is that Jesus is the Lord God. He is the king of the universe, the ruler over all. On his return it will be so obvious that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians)

There is that glorious passage in 1 Corinthians 15:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’

The analogy used in the Bible is that when we die it’s like planting a seed in the ground.  In due time the seed sprouts to new life in a new form. Even though we die there will come the due time when Jesus will return, bringing with him those who have already died. They will be raised from the dead, just as Jesus was before them.

Just as God has determined what the new body of the sprouting seed will be like so he determines the new body for each of us on our resurrection, our new, imperishable body.  Jesus had such a body when he was raised from the dead.

He was recognisable. He spoke to people. He moved from place to place with no limitations on time, distance or even doors. It was recorded how he met a range of people, even to 500 people at once.

At his last meeting with people he ascended visibly into heaven after telling them to expect his return.

What will our new resurrected bodies be like? Almost certainly, they are like Jesus resurrection body.  He went first and showed us how it’s done. I expect mine will be because Jesus is my example in every other way!

How comfortable are you about the prospect of an eternal life which continues much the same as this life we are now living? I agree with people who like the idea of God coming and cleaning up the mess humans make in this world, putting an end to corruption and evil. Well, the good news is that clean it up he will!

Peter wrote about this in 1 Peter chapter 3 and warned us about scoffers and false prophets. They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised? Peter answered them by writing But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

In other words, God is in charge here, including over time itself, and is delaying Jesus return and the big cleanup to give each of us more time and a chance to get our lives together and get our relationship with God sorted while we can. (1 Peter 3)

There will come the total annihilation of all that is evil, all that is the source of evil. It looks like God intends to wipe out the universe he created and start again.

I don’t think we should expect the cleaning up process will be at all comfortable, especially for those whose names are not in the Lamb’s book of life. Even we might not enjoy all of what happens when Jesus cleans up. 

He really upset the stallholders and the religious leaders when he overturned their tables at the temple and kicked them out. Getting the house and garden ready for visitors is more cleaning up than most of us enjoy and this cleanup is so very much bigger!

How does the universe begin and how will it end? Cosmologists try to explain about the Big Bang of a singularity leading to the evolution of the universe as it is now. Many of them predict some sort of collapse into one massive black hole as the end of the universe.

We read about the origin of the universe in Genesis and the end of it in Revelation.

In Revelation chapter 21 we are told of a magnificent vision.

Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

Now that looks like the perfect heaven, a wonderful place to spend eternity.

I wonder what it will be like but I will just have to wait and see and in the meantime enjoy and make the most of the life God has given me so far and prepare myself for the next one.

Today’s passage tells us For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.

Jesus will return as the victorious king and Lord. He is the creator God who has the authority and the power to completely destroy anything not good enough for his perfect, eternal heaven and replace it with a creation in total perfection.

Those who have died will return with him in their new bodies and then it’s our turn to be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord and be with the Lord for ever. At that time we, too, will be changed in the twinkling of an eye with our new resurrection bodies.

We know that he is at present preparing a place for us; a mansion, a residence, a room, even a cabin in the corner of gloryland and he will take us there not as we are but changed to be like his resurrected body.

It’s easy to get impatient with the delay, persevering in this life, wondering when that great day will come.

One thing we can be sure of is that anyone claiming to know when that day will be is a scammer leading others astray. Only God knows when that day will be.  Jesus made that plain.

Time means nothing to God.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 Paul continues on to tell us:

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety’, destruction will come on them suddenly.

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.