For any of us who grew up in 1990s and early 2000s broader evangelicalism, end times speculation was a hot topic. I remember highly anticipated yearly releases from one book franchise, then turned into a radio serial played on Christian radio each evening and one or two movies before enthusiasm petered out. One of the hot passages for their end times system was this passage. But what is it actually about?
In this passage, Paul certainly does address the end times – specifically the return of Christ. But he does so with a purpose in mind; to encourage and comfort the Thessalonian Church to grieve for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who had died, but not without hope. Paul’s words encourage us to look forward to being reunited with fellow believers as Jesus returns to put a final full stop on sin and death in this age.
Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian Church has started to fill in possible “gaps” in teaching which appeared due to Paul’s unanticipated and sudden departure. Paul covered personal holiness and virtuous living. Now, he addresses a misunderstanding the Thessalonians had regarding the deaths of believers and the return of Christ.
Paul wrote to inform them “about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (v.13). Paul is not discussing sleep habits of course, but using a euphemism for death.
In the pagan world, death commonly represented a final full stop after which there was no new sentence. Similar sentiments are expressed by many today in our culture (though not all, of course). Therefore, the death of a loved one meant there was no hope of seeing them again.
Paul does not want the Thessalonians to be misinformed about the reality of death. As believers, we who die in Christ have the hope of resurrection (John 11:25). And since Jesus died and rose from the dead, “even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (v.14). Death is not an end for a Christian, but a transition to the next stage of life.
What does this mean for those who had already died? Paul made clear, not on his own opinion but declared “by a word from the Lord” that they would not miss out on the return of Jesus, because they did not survive to see that day (v.15).
If anything, they would have a slight advantage. “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” (v.16). The dead in Christ would take first place in the call of the troops. Or to use another analogy, they would have priority boarding of the plane.
Only then would “we who are alive, who are left… 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” (v.17). So neither dead nor alive in Christ will miss out. All will be with Jesus for eternity.
But why caught up into the air? While a common evangelical (dispensational) interpretation is that this refers to a rapture of saints at some point before, during, or after a period of great tribulation, Paul is using an historic practice as an analogy. When a visiting ruler came to town, the local dignitaries would march out of the city gates to meet him outside and escort him in with rejoicing and fanfare.
Essentially, Paul is identifying Christ the King as coming to his realm, and his loyal followers (Christians, asleep or alive) as the escorting party to lead him in with rejoicing and fanfare!
The point though is not the process, but the outcome. All believers, whether alive at Jesus’ return or not, reunited with each other and united together in Christ’s presence. “Therefore encourage one another with these words” (v.18). The future, and death, is not something to mourn without hope, or fear, but something to find comfort in today.
I do not want to focus on the speculation around how this passage fits into particular systems of end times thought. Instead I want to point us back to the purpose Paul wrote this passage. Information, and encouragement. Both to affect the way we live today.
While our culture often hides from death or seeks to delay it for as long as possible for fear that nothing comes after, we do not have to live the same way. For death means the next stage of life begins, together with Jesus. We can look forward to the future, and not just live solely for the moment.
We must grieve our brothers and sisters in Christ who die, for death is not natural but a result of the fall. But we have the hope we will see them again. And we have the hope that when we die, those we leave behind will also join us one day, at Jesus’ side.
