Encouraging in Light of Eternity
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. 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words. — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
What is your default mode of encouragement?
In this passage, the apostle Paul specifically commands his readers to encourage one another. Although this letter was written nearly 2000 years ago, not much has changed in our need for encouragement. Words of truth and hope are always the need of the day.
As Christians, we have an anchor of hope in knowing that God will never leave us nor forsake us, even when we can’t see past the storm that we’re in. This encouragement is more worthwhile to share with others than any self-affirmation or well-intentioned platitude. Because this hope is rooted in God’s Word it is not only true in part or in temporary circumstances, but it is true for all eternity.
Many of us oscillate back and forth between totally naive optimism and bitter cynicism that leads to even greater discouragement in the face of life’s challenging situations. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane shows us a better way. He asks boldly for the Father to deliver him from the cross to come by praying, “Let this cup pass from me.” Yet, he also surrenders completely by saying “not my will, but yours be done.” Like Jesus before us, we can trust the hard situations in life to our loving Father.
If we want to keep a song of joy in our hearts in the face of a world that seems increasingly fragile, dark and uncertain, we need a solid foundation for encouragement, and that’s exactly what God gives us in this passage. Though the Thessalonians were discouraged when thinking of the second coming of Christ, Paul surprisingly tells his readers to find encouragement in the exact same place that was causing them distress. Paul tells his readers to find encouragement in the return of Christ.
The Cause of Discouragement
So why were the people receiving Paul’s letter discouraged, anyway? The short answer is that they were experiencing fear of the future, specifically about Jesus’ second coming. The Thessalonians rightly understood that they were living in what the Old Testament writers called “the latter days,” the period of history when the long-awaited Messiah would come and inaugurate the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died in our place, rose to conquer death, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, He did in fact usher in the Kingdom of God. The Thessalonians knew this, and they also knew that Jesus could return at any moment. They were anxiously waiting for his second coming, also known as the consummation of the Kingdom.
What about the second coming made them so discouraged? Paul gives us a clue in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 in the prior passage. He writes, “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.” So it appears as if the Thessalonian church could have had a specific concern related to both the second coming of Jesus and to their brothers and sisters in Christ who died before Jesus’ return.
They likely thought that in some way, those who died before Christ’s return would not experience all of the glorious benefits that those who were alive during the second coming would experience. In order words, they were likely afraid that their friends and loved ones who died without seeing the return of Christ would not be raised from the dead to new life with him.
In the midst of that discouragement, Paul gives his original readers and us good news: Jesus is going to come back, and we will always be with him. Those of us who die before Jesus returns will be raised on that day, not one of us will be forgotten, and we won’t miss a day of eternal life with him.
Our Secure Future Hope
Paul tells us to encourage one another with the good news of Jesus’ return. So, what’s going to happen when Jesus comes back? While this passage is not exhaustive, in 4:16 Paul does give us a general order of events for the second coming.
Jesus will descend from heaven
There will be three calls (a shout, the archangel’s voice, and the trumpet of God)
The church (both dead and alive) will be caught up with Christ in the air.
However grim our lives look right now, Jesus is coming back, we will be with him forever, and so we can trust him with our present.
Be Encouraged
The Thessalonian Christians were just like you and me, feeling uncertain and probably a little afraid about their future. They needed to be encouraged. It’s to uncertain and afraid people that Paul writes: “Therefore, encourage one another with these words.”
We aren’t so different from the Thessalonians. The stability of the world we grew up in seems to be cracking beneath our feet with a fragile economy, corrupt government leaders, wars all over the world, and a future that from a worldly perspective seems to look more and more grim each day. Just like the Thessalonians, we need to be encouraged by the second coming of Christ.
This passage is not meant to answer every question we have about the second coming, but it does have a purpose. If we’re not careful, thinking about the return of Christ can lead us more toward confusion, but Scripture teaches of the return of Christ so that we would be encouraged.
In my own family, the hope of the resurrection and return of Christ comforted us when we faced the loss of a beloved family member. As we grieved, our comfort was found in believing that Jesus is really going to come back and we really will be with him forever. Our loved ones in Christ who leave us on this earth will join us again when Jesus returns and draws us all to himself forever.
Christian, take heart. That truth has been an anchor for us, and it can be an anchor for you too, whether you are walking into an uncertain season of school, or work, or whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, let the return of Christ propel you to persevere. You aren’t going to miss out on a single day with Him.
