Jesus in the Writings of Paul (7)
Pray Psalm 47.1-4.
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For the LORD Most High is awesome;
He is a great King over all the earth.
He will subdue the peoples under us,
And the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves.
Selah
Sing Psalm 47.1-4.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
O clap your hands, you peoples all, with joy to God your songs intone!
Shout out to Him, and on Him call, He is the mighty, sovereign One!
High is the LORD, O, fear His Name! He rules, a King o’er all the earth.
Nations and peoples He has tamed, the heritage of His holy worth.
Read 1 Cor. 15.22-28; 1 Thess. 4.13-18; meditate on 1 Thess. 4.15-18.
Preparation
1. What happens to those who are “asleep” when Jesus returns?
2. What about any who “are alive and remain”?
Meditation
What precisely can we know about the Lord’s return, from this passage? First, He will emerge into sight from the heavenly realm (v. 16; cf. Rev. 19), accompanied by a great shout and a trumpet blast, presumably, a shout and trumpet blast that all the earth will hear (v. 16). No one will not know when Jesus returns.
Next, those who have died in the Lord will rise from the dead and be glorified in their eternal bodies. They will be immediately followed by those who are yet alive and in Christ. Together they will rise to join Jesus as He returns (vv. 16, 17). John carries this forward beyond where Paul stops, to explain that all the redeemed and saved will return with Jesus. You can read about this in Revelation 19.
The word translated air (ἀέρα, aera, v. 17) refers to the spiritual realm, the place inhabited by saints and angels. The coming of Christ introduces us to a new quality of life, which both John and Peter further elaborate to include a spiritual life that is fused with a new creation, of our bodies and of the cosmos (2 Peter 3, Revelation 21). Its primary feature, however, is that it is a spiritual domain where spiritual beings live, and where those whom Christ gathers to Himself will dwell with Him always. The new heavens and new earth, according to Peter and John, will be physical places, such as we are familiar with now; but even so, this will be a place where spiritual beings, whatever else they are doing, commune with God and one another always (v. 17).
What an exciting prospect! It behooves us to meditate often on the coming of the Lord, and to be encouraged and comforted by the promise of His coming and all that accompanies it.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Behold, I tell you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” …
“But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15.51-54, 57).
“Blessed is he who waits…But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days” (Dan. 12.12, 13).
“Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds,
from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven…
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Mk. 13.26, 27, 31).
“Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people:
‘Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.’
Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge” (Ps. 50.3-6).
“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.
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” (1 Thess. 4.16, 17).
“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and He shall stand at last on the earth;
and after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
that in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold,
and not another.
How my heart years within me!” (Job 19.25-27).
“Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4.18).
“What an exciting prospect!”
Reflection
1. Upon His return, Jesus will act as both Judge and Mediator. How will that affect us?
2. How does knowing Jesus is coming again serve as a “comfort” or “encouragement” to believers?
3. How should you prepare each day for the return of our Lord?
Then after long seasons, Christ our God shall come to judge the world in awful glory, beyond words to tell. For fear of him the powers of heaven shall be shaken, and all the angel hosts shall stand beside him in dread. Then at the voice of the archangel, and at the trump of God, shall the dead arise and stand before his awful throne. John of Damascus (650-750), Barlaam and Ioasaph 8.64
Pray Psalm 47.5-9.
Thank and praise God that our ascended Lord and King is coming again soon. Pray for the Church’s work of evangelism, that all the lost and chosen souls who belong to God may soon be gathered to Him.
Sing Psalm 47.5-9.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God has ascended with a shout, the LORD with sound of trumpet bold!
Sing praise to Him, let praise ring out; let praise throughout the world be told!
God is the King of all the earth; sing praise to Him with glorious psalms!
He rules the nations by His worth, and on His throne receives their alms.
Princes of peoples gather all to Abraham and to our God.
Exalt the LORD, and on Him call. The earth is His, so praise our God!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Our current ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” is dealing with the time of our livesand how we make more of this for the progress of Christ’s Kingdom. In our Read Moore column, we continue working our way through the book, Understanding the Times. And I encourage you to follow our Corsfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert, nicknamed “The Navigator.” Join us and find out why. Click the Articles tab on the home page to see all the selections available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
