Rev. Shemwell
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 11/12/23 Homily for The 24th Sunday after Pentecost Our sermon text this morning is the lectionary reading from St. Paul’s first epistle to the church in Thessalonica. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “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.” Dear brothers and sisters in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, what we hear in these prominent words from St. Paul is a description of the end of this present world – the end of earth as we know it really and then what comes thereafter. And yet, the apostle explicitly tells us at the close of our reading to “encourage one another with these words.” That’s the thing, friends: the end is not something to fear, but something to look forward to. It is not something to fret over, but something to anticipate with immense joy. It is something which itself encourages. Our Lord will return in judgement, yes. But for those of faith, for us, that’s good news. We are reckoned righteous for His sake. And as we heard last week, when our Lord, the holy Lamb, does return, He will wipe away our tears and end our pain and He will make all things new. For us that is perfection. That’s what we want. That is what we desire – it is our deepest longing as sinner-saints to be wholly rescued from this bitter vale of tears. But yes, to be sure, for the unbeliever though, the end of the present world is perhaps a terror – and a terrible thing to contemplate. News of it is received by the faithless with a tremendous deal of trepidation. 2 Yet it shouldn’t be that way. Instead, this news should be regarded by them foremost as a welcomed warning. And that’s exactly what St. Paul intends here. His words are an encouragement to us and a warning of sorts to those still lost. His is a message of hope and of good tidings for us faithful, but it is moreover, in a less direct way, still a message of hope and salvation through God’s freely-given-grace for all outside these walls as well, should they only believe. And that means it is imperative that we share this message with all who remain lost. That is our duty as Christians. It is absolutely incumbent upon us. The unbelieving world needs the saving Christian faith, it is their only hope, and it is our responsibility to speak it to them, and regularly. So that’s what must be said up front. You already know it to be true – but I am obliged to remind you often as your pastor. Because the truth is, we Christians have gotten kind of lazy and awfully apathetic in this department over the past half century or so. But anyhow, let’s back up for a moment, shall we? There’s something else to be said here for us. This current world will come to an end. True enough. It will be destroyed, in fact. There will be a conflagration, as Sts. Peter and Paul both assure us. Jesus will return as Judge. He said so Himself. This is certain; the Bible straightforwardly tells us so. All the pieces of the puzzle fit together and make sense. But what exactly will the end look like though? That is the question on the minds of many people. And one can understand why. Maybe it’s on all our minds as of late. So let’s begin to answer this pressing question by starting here, as usual, with a single word: ἁρπαγησόμεθα (harpogay-sow-metha) – from the Greek verb ἁρπάζω – meaning to seize, to snatch up, or to carry off. That’s the word Paul uses when referring to what will happen to those still living when the Lord comes back. They will be seized and caught up in the heavens to be united with God forever. 3 Now the Latin Vulgate, the primary edition and rendering of Holy Scripture from its original languages that held sway for many, many centuries, translates this Greek word as rapiemur (rah-pih-aye-mur), from rapio in the Latin, meaning to snatch away or to grab, or to capture or catch – hence: “they will be caught up,” right? That’s what Paul writes. But okay, pastor, what’s your point though? Why bring in more Greek this Sunday and now even Latin? Well, here’s my point, friends: etymologically- speaking, this little word in the Bible is where we English speakers get a very serious and well-known theological term: rapture – again, from the Latin rapio. So will there be a rapture? Yes, of course, St. Paul says so. Those still living will be caught up with Christ and the saints in the clouds on the Last Day. They will be raptured, so to speak. However, much of what people in America today think about when they hear the word “rapture” is actually kind of inaccurate and confused. The Left Behind series of books, for instance, have you ever heard of it before? I’m sure you have. But here’s what you need to know about it: the theological thinking in that series is, to be blunt, and honestly, to be charitable, it is downright unbiblical. The author’s incredibly speculative understanding of the rapture has no real foundation in God’s Word and its historical interpretation. Having said that though, this view is also incredibly popular these days. Many evangelicals are convinced, for example, of an initial rapture, followed by a literal seven-year tribulation, with a-specific-and- singular-yet-so-far-undetermined-and-rather-frightening Antichrist figure, and a one- thousand year or millennial reign of Christ prior to the Final Judgment. Yet as far as God has revealed it to us in His holy and inspired Word, none of this speculation is really true or certain or at least proven or even provable. And the church in her profound wisdom for eighteen hundred years understood that fact perfectly well. She was not blind to symbolic and figurative readings of books like St. John’s Revelation. And neither are we. 4 Unfortunately though, a few short centuries ago a handful of Protestants began rather blindly to teach something new and positively uncertain concerning the end times. And regrettably, many people today have been led astray by these false teachings – which is what they are, by the way: false teachings. This matters for us this Sunday for two important reasons: firstly, because that’s the reading for today – 1 Thessalonians 4 – arguably one of the primary scriptural reference passages for those who teach incorrectly about the end times; and secondly, because of what is going on in the world right now, especially in the Middle East. This discussion is perhaps particularly pertinent in light of what has gone on with, say, Iran in the last week or so, right? The World War 3 worries are making the rounds once again. And to be candid with you, we do very much live in a dangerous time. There is global concern, and rightly so. But according to some Christians in this country who hold to a minority view called dispensational premillennialism—don’t worry, we will get into that dense terminology in Bible Study this morning, so make sure not to miss it!—but anyhow, some well-intentioned among the faithful who believe this peculiar teaching argue that the modern state of Israel plays a significant role in the one-thousand-year or millennial reign spoken of in Revelation chapter twenty. So for these Christians—who while vocal are relatively few—Christ’s Second Coming as Final Judge is in a way predicated on, it is based, contingent, and dependent on a national restoration of the political state of Israel. Which is why Christian Zionism is so prevalent among so many evangelicals and conservative Christians. But here’s the thing; as far as we know, that understanding of the end times is simply not scripturally substantiated in the least or even sensible. Which is to say, it is really quite unbiblical as well. 5 For us traditional Christians, for us Lutherans, for our theology and for our eschatology, from the Greek word ἔσχατον, meaning “the last thing,” with eschatology being the study of the last things, so in other words, for our understanding of the Second Coming and the Final Judgment, the very last things of all—modern nations and geopolitical matters are ultimately irrelevant. And besides, as Scripture plainly states, the holy church of Christ is the new and now only Israel in God’s eyes. God’s chosen people are the Christian church. That’s been the reality since Jesus Christ’s tomb was found empty two thousand years ago. The church, the body of believers, we are God’s chosen. Those baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are God’s chosen. Not modern Israelis or religious Jews or Muslim Palestinians or Iranians or anyone else on earth, but we Christians everywhere. Period. We as the baptized are the chosen. A Christian baptism is how God now chooses His people, after all. Furthermore, when our Lord does return, it will be all at once. It will not be two separate events, with an initial rapture of the faithful, as spoken of in our reading this morning, and then thereafter a Second Coming in judgment later on, with a tribulation of sorts in between. Despite what some misled believers think, there will not be two separate events at all, but one return, one Second Coming, all at once at the very end. It is the Second Coming after all, not the third or the second and a half coming. And when Jesus does come at the end of the age, once and for all, He will then judge all people, without exception – which means that all who have rejected Him explicitly will then be rejected by Him explicitly. That is what the Holy Bible teaches. And that is what the church has believed for thousands of years. And we have got to be bold in our proclamation of this pure doctrine of the faith, even when it is unwelcome and evidently out of season and maybe even unpopular among those who share our politics. 6 There will be a rapture, yes. But it won’t be like what you generally hear about in so much modern theological conversation in this part of the world. It will be, according to the Bible, an immediate thing, not a drawn-out ordeal. And the success or failure of the modern state of Israel, or any nation, for that matter, including our own, will play no determining role whatsoever in whether or when or how Jesus returns as judge in His glory. That’s up to Him. Not us. It has nothing to do with our thoughts, opinions, or deeds. So in light of all that, in light of the Lutheran and historical Christian teaching on this consequential issue, here’s my pastoral advice to you today – my sincerest words of encouragement: don’t listen to all that noise out there. Don’t pay heed to the fearmongers and false teachers and the end-timers who spread lies or at least loose and lazy interpretations about the Last Day. The end will come, but nobody knows when. Not a single solitary soul. There will be signs, for sure, but no man or woman this side of glory will ever know the exact when. And nobody really knows what exactly it will look like either. That is not given for us to know. And that’s okay. But anyone who tries to convince you otherwise, who thinks they’ve got it all figured out, is purely pulling the wool over your eyes. And honestly, they are disobeying God as well by attempting to shape dogma and doctrine out of sheer speculation. But here’s the most important takeaway: don’t worry so much about the end. Don’t be like them. Don’t be consumed with what God in His infinite wisdom has chosen not to reveal to you. Don’t brood or panic or lose any sleep over this world’s end. We are here right now, this day, and someday the end will come – but no one on earth knows when or how. Maybe it’ll be soon. Maybe it won’t. And you know what, we are truly in the end times already, we have been in the end times for two millennia, but we don’t know when the end times will finally end. 7 We don’t know and we can’t know. So in the meantime, how about just share the Gospel, save whomever you can. Focus on that. And don’t spend another moment of your brief life concerned about the specifics of the end of the world. God doesn’t want you too. Neither do I. And your worry makes no difference anyhow. Because obviously, worrying does not do anything at all to prepare you or anyone else for the consummation of the age. You know that and I know that. So again, tune out all that noise and just relax. But how on earth can you be so calm, pastor? How can you recommend such a light-hearted perspective? The world’s gonna end in a fiery destruction. Doesn’t that bother you? No, dear faithful, it does not. Because it is God’s will and His will is always good and because everyone saved in Christ is eternally secure in Him, and when the day does come, we will all then be ushered into the new creation and the new heavens. The end is not scary. It is sublime. And I cannot wait for it, frankly. I am not worried or worked up one bit. Days are dark right now, I get it. I have eyes to see and ears to hear. And yeah, look at how awful things around us seem. The world is indeed in turmoil. I wouldn’t deny that. And don’t get me wrong, I do very much fear for those who are still lost to this pagan world. But my worry and fear, none of that stuff helps them in the least. All I can do is share the Gospel with them, day by day. And if you are concerned for them, too, then do that also. Share the Word with your unbelieving loved ones whenever you have the opportunity. But don’t bother them with nonsense about when the world is going to end or precisely how. That is utterly useless to them. Instead, give them the full sweetness of the Gospel, give them the news of that forgiveness won through Christ’s beautiful bloodshed. Give them the news that when God incarnate returns, He will bring life wherever there is death. That is what persuades and that is what saves. Therefore, give them that – which is all they really need at the end of the day anyways. Law and Gospel – and in that order. 8 And what about us though? What do we have to do in order to prepare for the end? Well, again, stop worrying yourself. Chill out. Relax. All you need to do is keep coming to church. Keep believing. Keep praying. Keep reading your Bible. Keep hearing the Word preached out loud in this here place. Keep receiving the holy sacraments of Absolution and the Lord’s Supper. Keep loving your family. Keep making families, as a matter of fact. Great big families. Be fruitful and multiply – the more the merrier, the more souls to save. And keep educating and catechizing your dear children, so that they might be sanctified, too. Keep serving and growing your church. Keep helping your neighbor. And you know what else you really need to do? You need to enjoy your life every now and again. As much as you can. Keep enjoying this gift of God’s green earth and your precious life. That’s right, enjoy your life. Drink and be merry. The wise king Solomon got it so right in the Book of Ecclesiastes, chapter eight: “I commend enjoyment,” he writes, “because a man has nothing better under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry.” Enjoy this life without shame. Suck the marrow out of it as Henry David Thoreau once poetically suggested. Seize the day even. Live your life to the fullest. Obey God, of course – that goes without saying. And that is how you live your life to the fullest. But also, remember all the commandments – the fullness thereof. Keep all the usual biblical commandments, naturally. Yet recall, too, that God further commands us to rejoice, to be glad, to savor this life and His gracious gift of creation and providence. The Son of God straight up told us time and again not to worry, not to be anxious. So obey Him. For the love of God—and I mean that quite literally—listen to your Lord and trust Him. Live your life without dread and angst. Love your life deeply and intently. 9 That’s how you prepare for Christ’s Second Coming. By respecting Him enough in appreciating your eternal salvation and your earthly life now, both of which are treasures from the Heavenly Father, which are safeguarded through His Son and worked in us and sustained by His Spirit. According to a famous tale—an often-told although perhaps apocryphal, unverified tale—a friend once asked Martin Luther what he would do if he knew that the world was going to end tomorrow. A question familiar to us all. And you know what Dr. Luther supposedly said? He said in response to that grave question that he would plant a little apple tree. That’s how he would spend his final day on this earth. Planting a tree. Being about his business by being a good steward of what God gave him, by not worrying, and by tending to what he loved: the earth and his neighbor. Whatever is going on in the world right now, however devastating it may appear, and terrifying at times, it is in God’s hands. All you can do is pray that His will be done. Our speculations do not factor into the Last Day. And neither does any paranoia our part. The Final Judgement is not something to be paranoid and petrified about. It is good news. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: heaven is not the final destination, friends. It is not the end goal. Heaven is wonderful and blissful and perfect and it is an altogether incomparable and celestial waiting room – but note well that that is what it is: a place where we await the Last Day. The real goal, the true end, is the new creation, the new heavens, the New Jerusalem, all that which comes after the Final Judgment at the end of time and after the conflagration, that fiery destruction of this current world. Our salvation is concentrated on eternity. We’re headed forward forever. And really, our eternity with Christ and with all the saints together begins on the Last Day, when we will each be resurrected in body and soul. And that’s something to look forward to with great expectation. It is not bad news but the very best news. 10 So my closing advice to you is this: turn off the news. In fact, just the turn off the television entirely, won’t you? And go read the Bible. Go outside. Go plant a tree. Read your Bible outside – and out loud. Kiss your children. Come to church week after week. And enjoy whatever time you have left on this planet. That’s how you prepare for the rapture. That’s how you make yourself ready for the Last Day. By being a good Christan on this given day – which means, in part, by rejoicing continually. Are you baptized, beloved? Are you here in church at this very moment? Are you repentant of your sins? Do you desire forgiveness and the Lord’s Supper? Do you love your neighbor? If so, then you have nothing in the world to worry about. You are saved eternally. Take heart and rejoice in that. The only thing that really matters in the end is already a settled matter for you now. It was decided on the cross long ago. So you are well on your way to being fully prepared for your Lord’s glorious return. We pray He comes quickly, of course, because the end is but a triumphant new beginning. So come quickly, Lord Jesus. Yet in the meantime, while we are waiting here below, don’t be anxious, brothers and sisters. That is a waste of time. Instead, spend your time well – by sharing the Gospel and enjoying the life God has granted you. That’s the work you have before you. And I hope you’ll take that work seriously by living light-heartedly – which is, after all, how a good, faithful Christian ought to live: without pretension and paranoia, without self-righteousness and self-certainty, without the heavy burden of useless worry, and with a healthy, robust lust for life. In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.
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