Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. I’m continuing with the theme I’ve been discussing. The next step now will be in Thessalonians—two sermons in Thessalonians. They continue what I developed in Matthew, but in a different way. They are still part of an eschatological interest. Today we will deal with First Thessalonians. On another Sunday, we will deal with a second part that is still connected.
In the letter to the Thessalonians, Paul is giving general instructions to the church. There are some things I want you to pay attention to, because they help clarify how he wants to work on our hearts, how the Spirit will work on our hearts through this word. And for that, we take into account exactly what reasoning Paul was following. Sometimes people say: “How do we know what today’s application is?” You simply try to understand the reasoning being used there and understand that God used men inspired by Him, not despising their reasoning, but inspiring their reasoning to say what God wanted to say and wanted us to hear. So, that’s part of our doctrine of revelation, okay?
Paul’s Instructions and Prayer
So Paul is giving several general instructions. He speaks to Timothy’s brothers with great affection, or to the Thessalonians with great affection. He says that he is sending Timothy to be with them. He is very happy about the things he has heard regarding what is happening there. Oh, and he offers a very beautiful prayer. He says this, in chapter three, at the very end, verse 11, he says:”Now may our God and Father himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that your hearts may be strengthened in holiness, blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)
And that’s where he starts talking—the coming of the Lord Jesus with all his saints appears incidentally, but that’s where it begins to appear. It’s interesting because he prays that their love will increase more and more. He gives instructions regarding fellowship and love between one another.
But then in chapter 4 he begins by saying:”Finally, brothers and sisters, we urge and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that, as you received from us how you ought to live and please God (as you are doing), you should do so more and more.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1)
You are aware of all my sufferings and trials. He continues developing his reasoning and then he says: “Look how interesting, concerning brotherly love, there is no need for me to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” He continues saying, including the fact that you have given testimony that you know what brotherly love is, you have cared for the saints, you have given all the evidence. So, in that sense, he is speaking to people who have things to correct in their lives, but he is speaking to people where he says: “In love, concerning love, I don’t need to give much instruction.” “You are doing well, you are doing great.”
Dignity, Self-Sufficiency, and Mutual Care
Ah, and then something interesting begins. He concludes by saying, “But it is important that you continue, that these actions continue to develop, so that you may conduct yourselves with dignity toward those outside and lack nothing.” He speaks of money, work, take care of each other’s needs so that you are not at the mercy of outsiders. It is a shame in the body of Christ for a person to need a government to take the place of God and become the caretaker when within the church the responsibility is mutual.
Obviously, my goal here is not to talk about political views, but about what extends from our faith. The Bible does not place certain responsibilities as responsibilities of the government, but as responsibilities of the church and human institutions. The government exists to punish evil, reward good, execute justice, and defend the people. That is primarily it. But here he uses a curious expression. He says: “Your dignity in mutual care as a consequence of the love that I know you have for one another. Others are proof that you don’t need the outside world, that you don’t lack them because you take care of each other.”
What worries me in these times is the level of dependence we’ve learned to accept and become accustomed to in relation to institutions that are contrary to, and increasingly contrary to, the faith. And I believe that one of the things that contributes to preserving the dignity of God’s people is, as much as possible, being self-sufficient communities in what is possible, taking care of each other in a way that we don’t need the ungodly out there. At the very least, so that I don’t have to get a tattoo on my forehead or arm the day I say I won’t be able to eat if I don’t accept it, right? I want to be able to say “I don’t accept it” and starve to death, no. I want to be able to say “I don’t accept it” and we have other alternative paths. Okay? This is still in line with the direction I’ve been taking with my preaching.
Comfort in the Face of Death
But then it will become very explicit where he’s going. But he’s going down a completely different path from Daniel, completely different from Revelation, and partly different from Jesus’ eschatological discourse. Jesus’ discourse begins when the disciples say: “See…” “What great constructions!” He says, “Not a stone will be left standing.” And then they say, “Ah, but how? When? What will happen?” And he delivers the entire sermon.
Here it’s different. Here Paul begins with something very personal. He starts with something that is personal and relatable. It’s something that’s part of everyone’s experience. If you haven’t done it yet, you will soon. It’s the loss of a loved one. He starts there.
So, he opens to chapter 3—I’ll read from verse 13 and I’ll get to chapter 4, from verse 13 and I’ll get to chapter 5, at the very beginning. The break between chapters four and five here, in my opinion, is inappropriate. I’ve already explained to you that this isn’t part of the original text. The original text was continuous, it was a letter, it didn’t have chapters, it was a continuous letter. The divisions into chapters and verses are didactic means that were used when printing the text, when creating the written text. So, they are not part of an infallible message. They can be considered using the reason that God gave us. And This particular point, the break here is inadequate. You’ll notice this as I continue with you.
So, let’s start in verse 13 of chapter 4.”But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
So, yes, that’s the little leap. Up until now, everything he’s mentioned is the day of the Lord and the return on the day of the Lord. The saints who will come with the Lord at his return. But now he turns and says: “Notice the difference. I want you to pay attention that regarding love, I don’t need to say much because you already know and you have demonstrated it in practice. Regarding mutual care, you have also been mature, and I praise God for your maturity and ask that it increase more and more. Regarding the matter of death, I fear that it is possible that you are ignorant. I don’t want you to be ignorant. There’s a difference in tone, isn’t there?”
Then he says: “My brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant like those who have no hope, grieving over those who have died, those who have fallen asleep, the saints who have died in the Lord.” He refers to those who have fallen asleep. And then he continues:”For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14)
That’s the summary. Many times Paul develops a whole line of reasoning and then gives a quick summary. Sometimes he starts with a summary and then elaborates on everything inside. I don’t want you to be ignorant, because those who die in the Lord, just as Jesus rose again, will one day rise with him. Okay?
The Sequence of the Lord’s Coming
Now, even though we declare this to you by the word of the Lord, listen now, this is very important. What does he mean when he says, “Now, we declare this by the word of the Lord?” The rest is not the word of the Lord. He’s emphasizing this; he’s saying this is very important. This is a crucial point here that I will add to as I develop the reasoning.”So, now, we declare this to you by the word of the Lord. We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15)
What does he mean by this? Whoever dies in the Lord sleeps. Whoever is alive when Jesus comes to take his own and does not experience death, will still not go before those who have died. He feels the need to explain this. Follow me to realize that he is not giving a bunch of loose information. He is building logical steps to close a line of reasoning. So he says, “Certainly those who do not die until the coming of Christ will still not go before those who have died before, okay?” He’s using the personal comfort of knowing what happens to those who die in Christ to go even deeper and broader.
He says:”For the Lord himself, having given his word of command, then he will begin to describe what will happen. Sequence of events. If you say: ‘It won’t be before so-and-so,’ you will now explain how, why not, the sequence of events.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
For the Lord himself, having given his word of command, Jesus says: “The hour has come!” The voice of the archangel has been heard, the king has commanded: “It is the hour!” And the trumpet of God has sounded, the shofar that summons the whole army, okay? These three things happening, he, the Lord, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. That is the sequence of events. Jesus comes, his voice was given, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet. He returns. Where does he go? Let’s read what’s here. And the first thing is that he resurrects those who died in the Lord.
And then it says:”After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
And that’s the point I want you to grasp very firmly. Obviously, the issue of eschatology becomes a topic of conversation for many people, discussing what happens before, what happens after. It deeply saddens me that people who interpret the Bible in its direct sense, in most passages, in some passages of the Bible, uh uh, jump to a more metaphorical or analogical interpretation, as if it were an analogy. Here he is being very clear, there is a sequence of events, okay?
And then he uses the word rapture. We will be raptured. So, when you hear someone saying: “No, in my eschatology there won’t be all that, it doesn’t exist, there’s no secret rapture, there’s no this, there’s no that,” it gives the idea that the concept of rapture isn’t in the Bible, it’s declared here. We who are still alive will be caught up together with them, after Jesus has resurrected those who died before.
“But is it a long thing, a long process? No, it’s not. The text is very clear. Look down and read with me, okay? Then we who are alive, those who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”
To meet the Lord where? So Jesus descended where? Please, we’ll go. Okay. The dead are resurrected. Jesus came, descended from heaven, resurrects the dead, gathers the dead with you two who survived, and you ascend to meet him. Where? That’s clear. The text is clear. The air, the church is taken and ascends. Why is this important? Because there are many people who say that if you believe that Christ takes the church, executes his judgments, and eventually returns, you’re saying there are two comings, but there aren’t. It’s one coming of Christ. Before that, he takes the church, meets the church in the air, those who died in him and those who remain. It’s part of the preparation for the final moment of the second coming.
Is that what Paul has in mind? Mind you? Let’s continue reading the text. So, I’ll read it again.”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 comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18)
The Day of the Lord and Vigilance
He started with a summary like that, expanded a little more to give you a sequence, a chronology. Now he’s going to go deeper. And it’s here that I said there’s an artificial break that I don’t think makes sense, because the reasoning remains the same. He said, brothers, concerning the times, obviously, if he just explained how the dynamics will be, the question comes to everyone’s mind, but when?
And then he answers:”Brothers, concerning the times and the seasons, you have no need for me to write to you, for you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)
There are brackets here. I don’t need to teach you what love is, because you have shown that you know. I don’t need to teach you the certainty that we cannot predict the date Jesus comes, that dates and times are not possible to predict, but that there are things about this, because you already know that too. What I want is to remove the ignorance that causes hopelessness and give the knowledge that brings mutual comfort and solace to all in Christ. That’s what Paul is talking about. That’s where he finishes the whole reasoning.
And then he continues:”For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly. And here’s another important expression: ‘Like labor pains coming on a woman about to give birth, and they will not escape.'” (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
So, what do we call it? What we, the pastors of the church, the teaching pastors, Pastor Éber, Pastor Vadislau, and I, have used as an expression several times, we have spoken to you about the beginning of sorrows. What sorrows? Sorrows like those of childbirth, like the pains of childbirth. The beginning of sorrows shows that childbirth is approaching, it doesn’t tell you what time it will be born. There are people who are in labor for a long time. So it’s an interesting metaphor, because he’s saying, we will perceive the beginning of sorrows. And part of the characteristic of the beginning of sorrows is when they say peace, peace, and there is no peace. When the world is saying peace, peace, and peace, it will be caught by surprise, because there is no peace. But it will feel the beginning of sorrows, like the pains of childbirth. He is very clear here, that they anticipate the moment.”But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief. You are not in the dark. The surprise of someone in the dark is different from the surprise of someone who simply doesn’t know the exact time, but is prepared, is in the light, sees what’s approaching. Like a watchman on a wall who sees danger approaching. For you are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us be awake and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6)
The Soldier’s Preparation
I have a certain feeling that sometimes we take certain biblical statements and understand that they have moral weight, they are normative, they have the weight of command. Others we read and it’s as if they don’t have the same weight. So when it says don’t sleep on the job and be vigilant, we think that’s a generic statement, different from what says: “Do not look with lustful eyes at your neighbor’s wife.” But both are commands. Both have a strong aspect of normativity. The two are saying: “This is what God wants from you. And he wants us to be ready so we are not caught off guard.””Now, those who sleep at night and those who get drunk are of the night. But we who are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:7-8)
Interesting. When he talks about preparation, he uses the idea of a soldier preparing for battle, okay? Obviously, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, it is a spiritual struggle against principalities and powers. That’s obvious, that’s clear. But the metaphor he chooses to use here is that he takes the elements of our spiritual strength and puts them in martial terms, okay? We are not of the night, we are of the day. Which isn’t quite like that, we don’t sleep at night, we sleep at night. It’s more in the sense of… This is a metaphor, a figure of speech to express that we are not part of the night in the sense of darkness and shadows. The moment in which one hides, gets distracted, gets drunk, and behaves wrongly. We are the people of light. We want things clear and open. I don’t want you to be ignorant about those who sleep and what will happen in relation to us and them. We are the people of light.
So, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and taking as a helmet the hope of salvation.”For God did not destine us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
That is why the church is spared from God’s wrath, from the outpouring of judgment in the cups, in the vessels, all that we preached at the end of Revelation, that which is judgment and no longer the beginning of sorrows. But the beginning of sorrows is the moment that warns us that something is about to happen, that moment in which we will be taken up into the air to meet Christ. Along with those who died in it and have already been resurrected, right? Already resurrected in body, because in their soul, we don’t know how. Pastor Éber suggested the last time we talked about this: maybe God makes a temporary body while they are in heaven, maybe it’s some other kind of form of existence, I don’t know. But their resurrected body, as Christ resurrected, will happen physically so that they can ascend with us to meet Christ in the air as the church, those who are alive and all those who died in the Lord before, which obviously the number of all those who died in the Lord before will be very large.
But, in our minds, we think: if you add up all the believers who have ever existed before, we are nothing in comparison. It’s not quite like that. It’s curious that if you add up—and this is in terms of population, we’re not used to thinking like this—we have 8 billion inhabitants on planet Earth today and there are many believers today. So you can’t say that all the believers who have ever existed before are much more than the believers who are alive today. You can’t. It would even be an interesting calculation of I even thought about doing one, doing the mathematical calculations and everything. It was a week, but I didn’t have time with all my activities, but it’s interesting, it’s an interesting line of reasoning.
But I can guarantee you that there will be millions and millions and millions, throughout history, resurrected; and there will be perhaps, I don’t know, millions and millions, maybe 1 billion, maybe they estimate that there are 2 billion people in the world today who, in one way or another, alleghor. If half of those are truly saved people who don’t just say “Lord, Lord” with their lips, a billion, if only a quarter, 500 million, that’s still a lot of people. And they ascend with Christ into the air, they meet him.
And Paul’s reasoning, speaking through the Holy Spirit, is: “So you are people who understand what it means to watch, to clothe yourselves with that which protects you for this moment and for this time.” “Why? Because God did not destine us for wrath.” What wrath? Which wrath? I don’t think that’s an abstract concept. And we often put things in the abstract. I believe he is referring to the coming wrath of judgment. That which in Revelation, that which Jesus speaks of will be done. He will judge the nations, he will judge the earth, he will judge all those who rejected Jesus Christ for what they did. And each one will pay for what they did or failed to do. This judgment, this judgment represented by the wrath of God, being poured into the bowls with the sound of the trumpet, into the vessels of wrath that will be poured out. That which is described, that which I shared with you, which I believe is the last three and a half years of the tribulation, the great tribulation, this moment of wrath, we were not made for wrath. So, what seems to me is that for Paul there is clarity here. The rapture happens at the moment when we are not… We will experience wrath. We will experience the beginning of sorrows and we will know that the time is approaching, but not wrath. Amen.”But we who belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8-10)
He’s talking about those who sleep in the Lord and those who are still alive, watching and waiting, all of them do this in the Lord.
Mutual Comfort and Building Up
And then he’s going to make the transition. And if I were dividing this into chapters, I would finish this chapter and the next sentence would start a new chapter, chapter 5, because from the next sentence onwards, he’s going to talk about various consequences of acting and thinking this way in practical life; but they are a sequence of direct and practical consequences of applying this principle.
But verse 11, I would really like you to have your Bible open and look at it. There, it closes as if you were tying a beautiful pink ribbon and making that knot that only an artist knows how to do, because he returns to talking about consolation.”Therefore comfort one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Interesting, isn’t it? He returns to the idea of consolation. I don’t want you to be ignorant and suffer like unbelievers. You have a different consolation, a hope concerning those who die, but also concerning the times. And concerning the times, I don’t need to tell you that it’s no use trying to guess the day, but I will tell you what you should be prepared for. And then he continues and he returns and says: “Comfort one another and build one another up.”
The closer the time gets, this will be used in another passage; he will use the following phrase: “The closer the time gets.” Going back to what I said: it is our responsibility to console and comfort one another and help one another to have the maximum dependence on the body of Christ and not dependence on those who are enemies of Christ, enemies of the cross.
Enemies of the Cross and Our Mission
Is there any justification for me to think that someone who rejects the knowledge of God, who rejects Jesus Christ, is neutral regarding Christ and the cross? The Bible calls them enemies. The Bible says that we were enemies of Christ and he loved us and brought us here. Why is that? It’s a belligerent attitude, meant to offend. No, no. It’s non-recognition. Let’s see. I have a friend who knows about commitments I have and who insists on ignoring those commitments and insisting that I participate with him in things unrelated to those commitments. Is he neutral regarding my commitments or is he at enmity with those commitments? We see this with friends who, in fact, secretly resent our spouses and try to distance us or take us away. We see this happening all the time.
They are enemies of the cross because the cross is confrontation. The difference is, they are our enemies forever and our personal enemies. Or, when they are enemies of the cross, they are people I would like to see converted into friends. That is the great difference. I don’t treat them as irredeemable enemies because I know that in Christ they can become more than brothers. So I preach the message of the gospel. I want to gather among those who today declare themselves enemies of the cross those who in fact do not know that they already belong to Christ. And this is an open message. So it prevents me from treating them cruelly, with judgment, because the Lord is the one who will execute judgment.
Who is going to defeat the enemies? Not me. I cannot harvest tares and wheat. I cannot do that. Who is going to defeat the enemies? It is the Lord personally. That is why here in Thessalonians, when he speaks, he uses armament figures to talk about defense, he only talks about weapons of defense, he doesn’t talk about weapons of attack. In other passages, he says: “The sword.” The Bible is a sword, words, but what is it talking about here? A shield and helmet protecting oneself. Christ is the one who will defeat the enemies. There should be no desire in our hearts, in our intentions, to commit acts of enmity towards those who do not know Christ.
But this does not mean that we do not recognize that more and more we will see the world moving in a direction where there will be greater contrast. Everyone is saying the world is polarized, and they are saying that polarization is political. It is not political. There are political consequences to polarization, but more and more it is not political. More and more you see the person who represents everything about progressivism and they say: “I am a Satanist.” And they say: “Eh, and more and more you will see people saying: “Calm down, it’s not like that. There is a creator who made the world and so on. You will look, he has a little cross or a Star of David hanging on his chest.” The polarization that’s happening will increasingly become a polarization of light and darkness, okay?
With the big difference that we have the mission to fish and hunt in what seems to be enemy territory, because we know that there are many children of God still there, still living in ignorance, and who can be brought to Him. Our goal is not to defeat them, not to crush them. God is the one who will exercise judgment and justice. Our goal is to proclaim the gospel, to be protected and to care for one another, comforting one another, all the more so because the day is approaching.
The Man of Perdition and the Church’s Purity
I believe this has tremendous implications. And it is in Thessalonians that Paul, and this will be my next sermon, speaks about the man of perdition. More literally, who will be the supposed savior of the nation? Who will come into this world that speaks of peace, peace, but there is no peace, into this world that is collapsing, and who will unify the peoples and will be a false Messiah. Everything that the Messiah promises: Prince of Peace, King of Justice… He feeds, he who feeds the nations, he who heals the nations. Everything that Jesus will be in his kingdom, this antichrist, that’s why he’s called antichrist, will try to create his counterfeit version beforehand. And in the beginning, it will be easy to fall for the con. Wow, that expression is politically incorrect in today’s world, isn’t it? In a world of tolerance, but it wasn’t meant maliciously, it’s a popular expression.
And then Paul will say: “This man of perdition will arise like this, like that, and will do this and that.” And that’s the moment when you have to presuppose what we saw here today in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Comfort and encourage one another, build one another up so that the world will not shame us, so that the name of Christ will not be shamed, where others who do not know Christ and are enemies of the cross need to take care of me or you. But that we show that we are a community that cares for, comforts, and encourages each other. And Acts is also very clear about this, so that the world Look at our mutual care, and those who are of God and don’t yet know it, feel it in your heart. It’s that community I want to belong to.
Because no matter how careful we are to always say those who are of God, those whom God has called, those who, because that’s what the Bible teaches us, remember that from a purely human point of view, how do I know if I am one of the elect or not? Easy. You respond to the preaching of the gospel, you are elect. You say, “I want to,” you are elect. “If you have conviction of sin and judgment, you are elect. There is no possibility of not being. So, from the point of view of preaching the gospel, it’s not about going around telling others: ‘Look, if you’re not among the elect, there’s no point in wanting to, you won’t.’ I know one person in my whole life, a pastor’s son, grew up in the church, who abandoned the gospel and who told me very clearly, and has said this publicly: ‘I know that God exists. I know that Jesus is the son of God. I know that he rewards those who seek him. I have tasted the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but I am not one of the elect, because I don’t accept that someone else pays my bill for me. I know I’m going to hell, spending eternity in hell, but I prefer that to bowing down before God.'” But this is an extreme degree of rebellion, and obviously it’s not the only dynamic happening there, right? There’s something else. This is the allegation. Inside there’s a deep anger and a deep rage that I don’t know exactly where it came from.
But nobody will… To say, “I wanted to believe in the gospel, but God doesn’t accept me.” How do we read that in Joel? In the responsive reading? How does the text of the responsive reading end? I’m going to ask you all to read in unison the last part of the responsive reading that’s in the bulletin. Together, very loudly.”And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved? For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath called. Those whom the Lord hath called.” (Joel 2:32)
Glory to God, for everyone who calls on His name in the face of these things that shall come to pass shall be saved.
There are people who look at the end times only with fear and terror or something like that. I look at these times, I understand that they will be spectacular times. They already are. And even more so as the most acute period approaches, because we will see a revival sweep across the earth, because we will see a mass conversion among the Jews, but we will also see the message of the gospel being announced and preached with great clarity. As the church is more persecuted and squeezed, more sweetness will come out, and what will be lost in the exodus that will happen will be those who are already not. It will be like weight loss. The guy is overweight, starts working out, starts working like crazy. The fat goes away, but the muscle remains. God will purify his church, and I am amazed to think about it. Glory to him in this process.