1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:4 — The 9th Day of Thessmas!

READ THIS: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:4

13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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 forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

5:1 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

It is safe to assume that someone in the Thessalonica community died, and the community was grieving. Someone quickly reading these verses might walk away thinking that Christians shouldn't grieve, but that isn't what Paul is saying here. He's saying that Christians shouldn't grieve like the rest of the world when another Christian dies. Christians know Jesus, and they will enter into eternity with Him. This isn't the only world we have, and Christians don't need to fear a hell/hades situation. We have hope, despite being sad. Think about Jesus! He cried when Lazarus died, but He also full knew that Lazarus would rise again...just like anyone who dies! (To be clear, these verses show that death is not the end for ALL people, it's just Christians get to be with Jesus while nonChristians don't). 

For those of you who have been trucking through the Revelation series with us on Sundays, you know that the idea of the end times is kind of scary. At the end of everything, there are a lot of hard, disastrous things that will happen. But, Christians don't need to be scared because, again, we know Jesus. He will deliver us through that, and, in the end, all pain and sadness will be destroyed. 

When all of that is going to happen isn't something that we know, but knowing it will happen eventually is something that can be encouraging in several ways. First, what Paul writes is encouraging because God hasn't just left us hanging with what happens next, so we don't need to be shocked when these things go down. Second, we have a personal relationship with God, so we can walk with Him through the final days, through grief, and through anything else that might happen. Third, when someone dies who knows Jesus, we can, while missing them, still have a peace about where they are and who they're with!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. How can you personally see these verses being "encouraging?" (This encouragement stuff comes from verse 18!)

2. How does the idea that Jesus could come back TODAY make you feel?

TRY THIS:
 
There is a lot of death that happens in this world, and it is sad. That's not how the world was originally designed, but it's where we're at right now. That being said, you probably know someone who recently died or someone who lost someone. Pray for them, and reach out to them to encourage them in some way!

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