1 & 2 Thessalonians: Jesus Is The Coming King
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1 & 2 Thessalonians: Jesus Is The Coming King
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (ESV)
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The celebration of Christmas is all about the first coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Back in the Old Testament, so many people totally ignored the coming of the Messiah as a baby. Although, you have passages that hinted His birth, just like the following verses:
Genesis 3:15 – Offspring of a woman
Isaiah 7:14 – Virgin birth
Micah 5:2 – Bethlehem as His birthplace
The main emphasis became the "Day of the Lord," when God will come as a King to establish His earthly reign and punish those who are unwilling to surrender their lives to Him.
However, the people who knew the Bible then did not realize that the work of redemption was necessary, where the Messiah had to shed His blood at the cross so that He could qualify those who will believe in Him as holy and His own possession. And so, our Christmas celebration is Christ's first step to the cross.
But still, there is a large portion of Old Testament prophecies that are waiting to be fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ, and that we should not take them for granted. So, as we come to our studies of the 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, we will primarily focus on this topic that Paul spent time clarifying to the church in Thessalonica. If you read and examine these books, it is pretty evident that Paul wanted to correct some misunderstanding the people had concerning the resurrection of their loved ones who died in Christ and the second coming of Jesus Christ. But before we cover our topic, allow me first to give you some background information:
During Paul's day, Thessalonica was a major city with about 200,000 people. Its seaport is ranked equal to that of Corinth and Ephesus for the provinces of Macedonia (Greece) and Asia.
Paul went to Thessalonica during his second missionary journey together with Silas. He stayed here for only three to four months because some Jews were troubled due to the powerful witness of the Gospel in the city (Acts 17:1-9).
1st Thessalonians is considered the first letter written by Paul around 50-51 AD. He wrote it while he was in Corinth after Timothy joined him with some updates regarding the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:6).
Let's discover together what these books say about our theme – Jesus is our coming King. Here are three essential elements of it:
I THE PAROUSIA OF THE COMING KING
The Greek word "Parousia" is translated in English as "coming." The apostle Paul specifically chose this word whenever he referred to the second coming of Jesus Christ in 1&2 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:1). Why used this word? The word was used as a designation to the emperor or King's arrival into a city during those times. For these extraordinary occasions, the people in the city took on major preparations before their arrival. Besides making sure the cities looked clean and beautiful, they collected taxes from the people who offered extravagant gifts to the King, including a golden crown.
I believe this "Parousia" concept of the second coming of Jesus should also be emphasized today among God's people. We should eagerly look forward to His second coming in the same way we would be excited meeting the president or an important dignitary. Many believers seem to take for granted that meeting Jesus literally means meeting the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Are you excited about it? Are you making the necessary preparations? Later, we will talk about preparations, but I trust that we are excited about meeting the Lord soon.
Of course, unlike the simple visit of a Parousia, the second coming of the Lord Jesus is more purposeful. In these two books, there are at least two primary purposes:
A. To rescue the believers to God's coming wrath.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV)
10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
The Lord will one day pour His wrath towards the people of the world who rebelled against Him. However, before God executes this judgment, Jesus will return first to rescue the church and remove her from the world.
B. To release God's wrath towards rebellious sinners.
1 Thessalonians 5:3-4 (ESV)
3 While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
4 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
While people in the world are so complacent, feeling secured, Jesus will return unannounced and unexpectedly to release God's judgment for sinners. People who reject Him will experience the "Day of the Lord" when Jesus will directly punish their rebellious words and works against Him.
II THE PROCESS OF THE COMING KING
Another critical aspect of the second coming that Paul explains to the Thessalonian believers is how Jesus is going to come to the world. In these books, Paul identified at least three ways Jesus is going to come:
A. He Will Return Personally.
If you check out the passage we read earlier, verse 16 reads, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven." Clearly, He plans to personally come, pick us up, and bring us triumphantly to our heavenly home. Of course, this act is consistent with what He promised His disciples before He went to the cross.
John 14:1-3 (ESV)
1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
I believe His personal coming undoubtedly indicates that we are so special to Him that He would not delegate the responsibility of meeting us to His angels or other loved ones who have gone ahead of us to heaven. It was like when my son, Johann, and family came last Sunday to join our Christmas celebration as a family, and I made sure Tess and I were there to meet them at the airport. I see Jesus doing the same thing!
B. He Will Return Unannounced and Unexpectedly.
One of the descriptions of the second coming that Paul used in 1 Thessalonians explicitly conveys these truths:
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 (ESV)
1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.
2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Kindly notice the phrase, "like a thief in the night." Of course, none of us would expect a thief to tell us if they break into our house or make an appointment with us, right? And so, if ever the thief comes, they will probably do it when they are least expected. For this reason, with His second coming, we want just to continue to prepare to meet Him.
C. He Will Return Gloriously
The previous description that should trigger some sense of anticipation for His return is that He will come in so much glory. Listen to these verses:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (ESV)
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 (ESV)
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.
The second coming will be a glorious experience for the believers:
He comes with a command from the archangel.
There's going to be a trumpet blast.
His mighty angels are part of the entourage.
What a sight it's going to be! However, for those who have rejected the Lord Jesus, the second coming will be a terrifying experience. Verse 8 of 2nd Thessalonians talks about a flaming fire inflicting those who rejected and rebelled against Him. Of course, this won't happen during the rapture of the church, but He's coming after the seven years -tribulation here on earth.
III THE PREPARATION FOR THE COMING KING
Since we don't know exactly when Jesus is going to return, we have some direct instructions from the apostle Paul on how we should prepare for His coming:
A. Aspire Greater Purity
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 (ESV)
11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,
12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,
13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
The key verse here is verse 13, where the believers are encouraged to aspire for a holier life while anticipating the return of the Lord Jesus. Since He can come any time soon, we should always be sensitive about living our lives today. Keeping ourselves clean at all times will eliminate the possibility of being embarrassed when we suddenly find ourselves meeting Him.
B. Activate a Guarded Profitability
1 Thessalonians 5:6-7 (ESV)
6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night.
As opposed to being asleep or inactive, we should also make sure that we are awake and sober when He comes. In the New Testament, the idea of being "sober" is consistently used to mean having a sound mind or being able to make a sound judgment. Often, this word is used in contrast to people who are intoxicated by wine, so they cannot make sound judgments.
Therefore, in the context of Christ's imminent return, we should continually guard ourselves to be captivated by any ungodly influence that would lead us away from making sound and godly judgments. This commitment can lead to a more profitable life while waiting for Jesus.
C. Acquire Growing Productivity
2 Thessalonians 3:6-10 (ESV)
6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.
7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,
8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you.
9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
Lastly, with these verses, Paul was trying to correct a major misunderstanding among the Thessalonian Christians regarding the second coming. Some of them started thinking that it's okay to stop working for a living since Jesus will come any time soon. But, of course, Paul's recommendation was the opposite. Christians waiting for the second coming should be more diligent in their work because idleness is not the will of the Lord.
As I close this sermon, I pray that all of us will be more aware of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. His coming is closer today than yesterday. During the first coming of Jesus Christ on earth, there were very few at the manger welcoming Jesus. This reality is because there were so many people who missed the birth of Jesus. Let's do our best to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Let's continually seize our opportunities to honor and serve Him while we wait so that when He finally comes, we don't have to hide from Him; instead, we will confidently meet Him face to face and tell Him that we have longed to see Him!
-Bishop Jeremiah Lepasana