Wednesday, November 12, 2008
1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
FACTS CONCERNING THE FINAL RESURRECTION: WE WON'T MISS OUT ON ANYTHING
When it comes to something like a sporting event or a musical concert, sometimes people talk about trying to get "front-row seats." People like to have good seats, even front-row seats, so that they will be sure to witness everything that is going on at a given event.
The early New Testament Christians in Thessalonica apparently had some questions about that final day when Jesus would return to this earth in power and glory. It seems they were wondering about what would happen to those Christians who had already died before that time. It may have even been that they were troubled by thinking that those Christians who had already died would somehow lose the saving benefits of their Christian faith because they had died. Through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote to tell them that this would not be the case at all.
As Paul wrote to the early New Testament Christians at Thessalonica, he wrote to them concerning facts about the final resurrection. One of the things that he wanted them to know was that those Christians who had already died in their midst would by no means lose out on the saving benefits of their faith in Christ. In fact, when it came to the events of Christ's return on that final day, those Christians who had "fallen asleep" would not miss out on a thing, for before anything happened, Christ would raise them from their graves.
As a child I used to hope that I would still be alive in this world at the final coming of Christ because I thought that if I wasn't, I might miss out on something that was happening at that time before I was raised. I didn't want to miss a single thing. However, as the Scriptures reveal to us, we don't have to feel like we will miss out on anything at that special time even if we have "fallen asleep" here in this world when Christ comes again. In fact, you might say we will all have front-row seats.
