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The Daily Word of Righteousness
We Shall Not Precede . . ., #2
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (I Thessalonians 4:15—NIV)
Now, let's think about "will not precede," since this is the point of the passage.
John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Apostles of the Lamb all preached the soon coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. Paul's comments in the first chapter of Second Thessalonians lead us to believe Paul thought the Kingdom was going to come while he was still alive on the earth.
And give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (II Thessalonians 1:7—NIV)
Paul taught the Thessalonian Christians that the Lord Jesus was going to return with His mighty angels and destroy Antichrist. The coming of the Lord would deliver the Thessalonians, and Paul as well, from persecution. The Kingdom of God was at hand, as Jesus and John announced!
Time went on. Some of the Thessalonian believers who first received the Gospel died of sickness, old age, or persecution. How do you think the living believers felt about this?
You are right! They had not been taught a great deal about how wonderful it would be to live in a mansion in Heaven. They had been instructed concerning the return of the Lord to set up His Kingdom on the earth.
Their concern was that the Christians who had died would not experience the joy and power of the return of Jesus to the earth in His Kingdom.
This is why Paul wrote the catching-up passage.
Paul was telling the living Christians that they would not precede the deceased believers into the Kingdom. This is the emphasis of what is being said here. It has nothing whatever to do with rescuing the living believers from the great tribulation. This should never be preached. It is not scriptural and it prevents the American Christians of today from preparing themselves to stand in Christ during the trouble that is coming. The "pre-tribulation rapture" is a totally unscriptural myth—nothing more!
Now, let us think carefully about what Paul wrote.
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe Jesus died and rose again and so we believe God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (I Thessalonians 4:13,14—NIV)
You can tell from what Paul said ("we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope") that Paul had not spent a lot of time telling the Thessalonians how wonderful it would be to die and go to live in a mansion in Heaven. Going to Heaven when they died was not their hope!
The hope Paul is offering is remarkable. It is that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
To be continued.