نص

According to a research survey, people spend more than $2 billion a year on something called the “psychic services industry.” This includes psychic predictions, fortune-telling services, astrology, horoscopes, palm reading, and the like. That is $2 billion a year—and that is just in the United States alone![1]

Beloved, this is not just an indication of curiosity; it is an indication of anxiety. Following the stock market crash back in 1929, many newspapers began including horoscopes for the very first time.

I read one article that revealed that even today, when there is an unexpected downturn in the financial markets, psychics and fortune-tellers actually receive phone calls from Wall Street bankers and financial planners asking for their predictions.[2] Imagine your financial planner calling an astrologer for advice!

Well, the truth is, people would rather look to the stars than to the Scriptures. If you are anxious about your future, do not spend money on fortune-tellers; take your money and buy a Bible and some Bible resources.

The Bible is not going to tell you what will happen to interest rates next month or what the doctor’s report is going to reveal—frankly, God wants you to trust Him for His timing and His plan for your life.

But God does give us the details about our long-term future—particularly as it relates to the future return of Christ. That will be the day when all our questions are answered. In fact, we probably will not even ask them when we see Him face to face.

The future return of Jesus is a major theme in the book of 1 Thessalonians. In fact, every single chapter ends with a reference to Christ’s coming.[3] Having touched on this subject already, Paul fills in some of the details here in chapter 4. He begins in verse 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.

The Thessalonians apparently were confused about these coming events. And one matter in particular they were wondering about was believers who were already “asleep”—which is a euphemistic reference to those who had already died. The Bible often uses the term “sleep” for the deceased, which is a gracious way of referring to those who have died. It is a fitting expression because they look like they have gone to sleep, even though they are very much alive.

The Thessalonians are wondering if deceased Christians will miss out on the blessing of Christ’s return. So, Paul reassures them in verse 14:

Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

The resurrection of Christ guarantees that every believer also will be resurrected, physically, bodily, just as Jesus was. That is why Paul writes back in verse 13 that we can grieve the death of our loved ones, but we do not grieve without hope. We know the future!

Let us put the biblical clues together now. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that when a Christian dies, that person’s spirit immediately enters the presence of the Lord.[4] There is no limbo or soul sleep. The believer’s spirit is absent from the body but present with the Lord. A believer’s lifeless body remains, is usually buried, and returns to dust. But God’s Son conquered the grave and defeated death. The Bible explains that God will one day collect your dust and reconstitute it into a new, resurrected, immortal body, reunited with your spirit, which has been with Jesus Christ in heaven since the day you died.

Paul writes here in verses 15-16 that when Jesus returns, He will bring with Him the spirits of those who have died so that their spirits will be rejoined with their newly resurrected, glorified bodies. All this will happen “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52)—as long as it takes you to blink your eyes.

We need to get something straight here, though. Christ’s second coming occurs in two phases. Here Paul describes the first phase, which we call the rapture. It involves Jesus coming in the clouds with believers who have already died, to bring about the resurrection of their bodies.

According to chapters 4 through 19 of Revelation, the rapture is followed by seven years of tribulation, when God’s judgment is poured out on the earth. Then, at the end of that seven-year tribulation period, the second phase of Jesus’ return takes place. This time Jesus doesn’t come “in the clouds”; He comes “in a cloud” (Luke 21:27). This is a reference to the cloudy pillar that represented the presence of God in the Old Testament. And this time, Jesus does not come for believers; He comes with believers. And He does not come merely to the clouds; He comes all the way back to earth and establishes His thousand-year kingdom.

Verse 16 lays out the order of events with regard to the rapture. First, Jesus Christ descends from heaven to the clouds. Three sounds are heard by the believers: “a cry of command . . . the voice of an archangel, and . . . the sound of the trumpet of God.” These three sounds announce what immediately follows.[5] In fact, this trumpet sound is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:52, which also describes the rapture. All this takes place in an instant.

Keep that in mind. The first phase of Christ’s return, the rapture, takes place in an instant and is experienced only by believers. The second phase, Christ’s return down to earth, will be seen by the entire world of both believers and unbelievers, as Jesus comes to judge the nations, defeat the devil, and set up His kingdom.

Now during this first phase, the rapture, Paul writes here in verse 16, “The dead in Christ will rise first.” That is, the bodies of deceased believers will be instantly raised and glorified and joined together with their spirits, who have accompanied Jesus to the clouds.

Then Paul writes about believers who are still living when the rapture occurs—and by the way, Paul thought he was going to be alive at that time—verse 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.

Immediately following the raising of the bodies of deceased believers, the living believers will be “caught up” to the clouds as well. The word rapture actually comes from the Latin translation of this word we translate “caught up” in English.

So, all living believers will also be raptured, snatched up, to meet the Lord in the air. At that instant, in the twinkling of an eye, their bodies, just like the resurrected bodies of the deceased believers, will be changed—glorified, made immortal. And with that, the Lord will take us all to the Father’s house—the city of gold and glory as the tribulation begins on Planet Earth.

What difference does this information make in our hearts and lives today, as we await the Lord’s coming for us in the clouds?

Well, Paul answers that here in verse 18: “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” The word for “encourage” can be translated “comfort.” These truths are meant to encourage you and comfort you as you await the Lord’s appearing.

You do not need a fortune-teller to guide you. You do not need some horoscope. You have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide you. And beloved, if Jesus is able to snatch you away to heaven, He is able to shepherd you through life on earth.

So, do not go looking for answers in the stars—keep digging into the Scriptures. Keep trusting the Lord.