The Comfort of Christ Return - Part 1

1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18

13) But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Introduction

Paul ends 1 Thessalonians 4 by saying, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (v18). Sometimes the second coming of Jesus is preached to threaten and frighten people.

Now, it's true that we ought to be threatened by Jesus coming if we are not ready to meet Him. We ought to be frightened if we are not prepared to stand before Him. But, these verses are written to comfort, not to threaten or frighten.

What the Apostle does in verses 16 & 17 is give an outline of what will happen at the rapture when our Lord comes. There are four basic events here which should give us great comfort.

1. The Majesty of His Return

It's clear that the Lord Jesus is the central figure here. "For the Lord Himself shall descend..." Acts 1:11 says the same thing: "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." It's the same Jesus, the Lord Himself.

Some people want to doubt the second coming. They are the same ones that doubt Jesus was born of a virgin, the same ones that doubt the crucifixion and resurrection, the same ones that doubt the sinlessness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the same ones that doubt that He is the Son of the living God, the same ones that doubt the empty tomb.

56% of so called evangelical Christians no longer believe that Jesus is the only way to make it to heaven.

To those people I say, Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died on a cruel cross, was buried in a borrowed tomb, descended into hell, defeated death, hell and the grave, rose again on the 3rd day, ascended into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of His Father the almighty God, creator of Heaven and earth, where He ever liveth to make intercession for us.

Make no mistake about it. Jesus is literally, visibly coming back - just like He did the first coming and His return will be majestic.

One day our Lord will rise from His throne, step from the lofty heights of heaven's splendor, and begin His descent to this earth. He will come in the glory of the Father with all of His holy angels.

2. The Miracle of our Resurrection

The second event that should give us comfort is the resurrection. We are going to be raised. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (v16)

There are signs of Christ's coming all around us, but right now let's listen for the sounds of His coming.

A. With a shout...the word shout here means "command". Not a shout like at a sports event. This is and authoritative shout. John 11:43 gives us some insight to what Christ will say. When He raised Lazarus from the dead Jesus called "Lazarus, come forth". I believe the Lord's shout will again be "Come Forth"!

All of the sleeping dead in Christ will hear the voice of the Son of God. The Savior's voice will reverberate throughout Satan's kingdom of death and bring it crashing down.

At the Savior's command, the sea will give up from it's heaving bosom the dead who are in it. The winding sheets of the desert will deliver up the dead who are there. The battlefields will give up the dead who are buried there. Every graveyard will look like a plowed field when our Lord issues the shout.

B. We'll also hear the voice of the archangel, who Daniel 10:13 points to Michael. Why is Michael needed? Because the bible calls Satan the prince of the power of the air. Satan is a fallen angel, and Michael, still his superior, will say to all of the demons (fallen angels) and to Satan, "Make way for the saints of God as they go to meet our Lord in the air". Glory hallelujah to God I want to be in that number.

C. And the last sound will be the trumpet. Trumpets were very important in Israel. They were sounded primarily for worship and warfare. At Christ's coming, the saints will be caught up to the throne to worship, and the great tribulation war will begin here on earth. This is the miracle of our resurrection.

You may say, this is beyond my understanding. How can I really believe in a miraculous resurrection. Truth is the fact that we are here right now is beyond our understanding. We don't even understand birth. If God can make man out of nothing, He can surely raise up something from a tomb! The same miraculous God will raise the dead.

1 Corinthians 15:51 & 52 says,

"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed".

The bible also says in Philippians 3:21

"He shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body"

And the Psalmist said in Psalm 17:15

"I shall be satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness".

What are we going to be like in the resurrection? We are going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. Glory hallelujah to the Lamb of God!!!

This concludes part one...next week we will cover events 3 & 4.

In closing let me ask you....Are you ready for Jesus Christ to return? Are you ready for the rapture? Are you saved? As a Christian, are you ready to say, "Lord Jesus, I have loved you, I have served you, I have witnessed, I have been faithful".

Jesus is soon coming again...if you do not know Him today please call upon Him while there is still time. Ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you from unrighteousness and come into your heart. The Word tells us that if we ask, He will come into our heart and save us from our sins. That is the whole purpose for Christ death on the cross. That we might be saved!!!

See You In The Word,

Janetta