A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 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.

We are entering into one the most popular passages referred to in the New Testament. The following passage speaks of the pretribulational rapture of the saints which happens at the beginning of the seven year great tribulation. The great tribulation is a period of tremendous persecution of the Christian church, with the Lord Jesus coming back at the end of the seven year’s. During this time, the anti-christ appears and the revived Roman empire rises up, eventually ending with the Chinese army crossing over the dried up Euphrates, in order to battle at Armageddon.

At least that is how I use to speak of this passage, but as I read the New Testament, I found our verse this morning becoming specifically applicable to yours truly, for I was severely uninformed. As Paul spoke to a small church 2 millennia ago, he spoke to me also.

Paul opens up this passage due to the pain the believers were experiencing in having lost brothers in the congregation to death. As a first generation church, newly born into Christ just years after the resurrection of the Savior, there may have been an expectation in the church that wasn’t being realized.

Let me postulate. Given the history of the resurrection, some may have expected the same three day “turnaround” for the brothers. Three days in the grave/tomb, and the brothers would be lifted out of death. Could this have been the expectation of some in the church?

As we now know, the believer will not be raised bodily until Jesus comes back, with the intermittent time between death and bodily resurrection being at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

But I am veering from the core message of this verse.

Paul was aiming to help the believers “not grieve as others who have no hope”. Paul is blunt. Those without Christ have no hope. Those in Christ have hope. This fact alone makes it possible for the believer to experience a different grief at the death of a fellow believer.

The difference? The hope we have in Jesus. As we work our way through the remaining portion of chapter 4, Paul addresses this young churches understanding of the end times in a way that speaks to the churches grieving. He is working pastorally, teaching them of their joining together with their brothers at the same time they join with the Lord Himself.

For those who have lost a loved one in Christ, there is comfort in this passage. We will join with the Master and our brothers at a point in time chosen by our Father. We will all be around the Messiah, as we should be, and there will be joy and rejoicing for all the marvelous work He has done to save our lives, our souls, our loved ones.

May we be patient in our faith, and look to Him for direction and comfort, even as we may loose a loved one in the Lord.

We will be reunited!

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