Torch, Winter 2012

relationship with Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again to give us forgiveness and life. God desires for us to live forever with Him, but only those who trust His Son will claim this hope (1 Cor. 15:1–2). The Scriptures tell us some startlingly clear and simple truths about what this means for our lives, for our loved ones, and for the future. Hope for His Coming We affirm the truth and rest in the hope that a day is coming when 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 (1 Thess. 4:16). This passage echoes what Jesus promised in John 14:3, saying, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” Even though He spoke these words more than 2,000 years ago, they are still true, and we can rest in this promise. We also know that when the Lord comes, there will be believers who are still alive in their natural bodies. Paul recognizes this fact and places himself within the group of those people who could live to see Christ return; in other words, it was possible within the will of God for Jesus to return in Paul’s lifetime. He uses the phrase, “We who are alive and remain” (1 Thess. 4:17), and Paul again affirms that it is possible to be among the living when the Lord comes (1 Cor. 15:51). He speaks of the mystery surrounding those who will not face death but will be caught up with Christ at His return. This has been the hope of every generation since Christ’s first coming — that Jesus would return in their lifetime and that they would not have to die. Rather, they would be alive and caught up in the air with Christ. This was not the hope of Abraham, David, or Isaiah. The Old Testament believers knew that they would die and be raised in the resurrection of the last days. But you and I, as believers in this age of grace, can have hope that in that moment when Christ returns, we will receive an immortal body, fashioned after Christ’s body. Those who have died will get that same body through the process of resurrection. And together we will meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:17). Hope Beyond the Grave The hope we have in Christ does not apply only to the living, of course. This hope has groundbreaking consequences for believers who have already died, because we know that the dead in Christ will rise first and experience the miracle of resurrection (1 Thess. 4:15). It’s important to note that resurrection is not reincarnation. The dead are not simply restored to the life we have now, nor do they come back in another form. To help explain this concept Paul uses an analogy of planting a seed. The sprout that comes out of the ground is related to what goes in the ground, but it’s not identical. Similarly, the dead will rise in Christ and receive a different type of body — an immortal, incorruptible body (1 Cor. 15). Our hope also affirms that a departed believer is with Christ. Paul wrote, “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him (1 Thess. 4:14).” The Greek word meaning “asleep” is the same Greek word from which 26 TORCH | Winter 2012 DAVID PHILIPS | ISTOCKPHOTO