A Great Comfort

Today, we are going to be looking at the last six verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter four. Last week, we saw that as followers of Jesus, we are to continually grow in our faith. We saw that God calls us to a life of sanctification. As chapter four closes, we see Paul ending with a hope for the future for believers. As we have already discussed, Paul was writting to encourage the church in Thessalonica. They had seen persecution take place, had seen Paul be mistreated, and now they were faced with a great uncertainty; they had been told that they had missed the rapture. With that said, let us look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and see what Paul has to inform the reader.

“13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 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. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Paul begins this section of scripture by stating that he does not want the reader to be concerned about those believers who had “fallen asleep”, meaning death. Paul is reminding the reader that they do not need to have fear like the nonbelievers, and the answer for this is in verse 14. In verse 14, Paul is reminding the reader that those who believe that Jesus died and rose again, will be brought forth to God. He is stating that those believers who have died will be brought to God. When you look at the Hebrew translation of verse 14, it is clear that this is talking about a pre-trib rapture and that Jesus will bring all believers, dead and alive, to Him. If you have questions about the Hebrew translation see Dr. Ken Johnson’s work.

However, there is still more to be discussed here. If we look at the Hebrew of verse 15, we will see that Paul is using the phrase “the Moed of the Coming of our Lord.” The Hebrew word for “Moedim” (Strong’s 4150) refers to the festivals that God put in place for the nation of Israel. These feasts have a direct link to prophecy. Jesus has already completed the first four of the feasts, leaving just three to be completed. Ken Johnson, in his book “Paul’s Ancient Hebrew Thessalonians Epistles: Proof of a Pre-Trib Rapture” describes it this way, “Many of us feel that the Resurrection/Rapture might occur on a festival, probably a fall festival. I had always thought it might occur on the Festival of Trumpets in some future year. This was speculation because there was no Scripture that actually said anything like that, until now. This Hebrew version says that it will occur on a festival, one of the Moedim. The phrase “the Moed of His Coming” is used in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 and 5:23. If the Phrase “Moed of His Coming” is a title, then that implies that Paul knew it would occur on a specific festival. The ritual performed on the fall festival of the Feast of Trumpets teaches on the resurrection of the dead.”

However, Paul gave more evidence to a pre-trib rapture in these verses. The Hebrew word for “shout” in verse 16, is “teruah” (Strong’s H7321), which is defined as “an awakening blast.” There is only one festival that we can see fitting with “an awakening blast”, the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets is also called Rosh Hashannah or Yom Teruah. These festival occurs on the first and second day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, or mid-September. This answers Matthew 24:36 where Jesus is saying that no one knows the day or the hour of the rapture occuring. The reason for this is that Yom Teruah is a two-day festival in which no one knows the day or hour that it will begin.

Ken Johnson describes it this way, “The ritual of Yom Teruah teaches about the Resurrection of the dead, which is why “teruah” is often translated as the “awakening blast.” It is the trump of God that is blown to awaken the dead. It begins the High Holy Days, which start on Tisheri 1 and goes through Tishrei 10. Tishrei 10 is the festival of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. It teaches about the destruction of the Antichrist, with the ritual of the Azazel goat, and the establishment of the millennial kingdom of the Messiah. The days between Yom Teeruah and Yom Kippur are called the Yamin Noraim, meaning “days of awe” or the “terrible days.” The Talmudic rabbis equated these days with the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. Notice that they occur between the Rapture/Resurrection and the Second Coming and that they include the third through the ninth of Tashrei. The Days of Awe last for seven days.” This presents a clear pre-trib Rapture followed by a seven-year tribulation period, ending with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to establish His millennial kingdom on earth.

Paul ends this chapter with a reminder to the reader that we are “caught up” or “ascend” (Strongs H5927) but it is only through Jesus Christ. Not our own actions. Paul is encouraging the reader to remember that we can take comfort in the knowledge of Jesus Christ coming back for us. Jesus has not forsaken those who have placed their faith in Him, He is preparing a place for us, John 14:2-3. When we are discouraged by the way the world is going, we simply need to remind ourselves that we have a greater hope.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex