Ron Dunn Podcast - The Second Coming Pt 2

Episode Date: May 31, 2023

Ron Dunn speaks from 1 Thessalonians 4 on the second coming of Christ

to 1 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, the 4th chapter, and follow along as I read verses 13-18, and this is the second in the series of messages on the second coming, and this morning the message is the sequence of his coming. 1 Thessalonians, the 4th chapter, we'll begin reading with verse 13 and read through the 18th verse. And if the person next to you does not have a Bible, would you share yours with him so that all of us can read the Word of God and follow along? 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18.

I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel,

and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord wherefore encourage one another with these words and that's what the word comfort means in verse 18 not just to console someone in a time of sorrow but encourage each other with these words. What words? Well, the words that Paul has just written, that the Lord himself is coming. I remember when I was just a very small child, occasionally I would awaken in the middle of the night just dead certain that somebody was in that room. Somebody was either in the closet or underneath the bed

or standing over me with a knife. And I would call for my mother or my dad. They would come in and I would tell them. And, you know, once in a while they'll do like most parents do, try to convince their children in the dark that there's nothing there, which is a hopeless situation. And nothing would satisfy until the lights were turned on and I was able to get up and look under the bed and look in the closet, look under the tables, make certain that nobody was there. And then when I was satisfied that there wasn't anything there to be afraid of, then the lights would go off again, I'd climb back in bed, and the minute the lights would go off again, darkness, that same darkness

would fill the room. But I wasn't afraid. What makes the difference? Well, the lights had been turned on, and I was encouraged by that. And you know, that's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did when he came to this earth, and he died, and he arose again. What Jesus did was to turn on the lights so that people need never fear the future again. And we do not have to worry and be afraid of this thing called death, because Jesus has turned on the lights. And that person who knows Jesus Christ and is resting in him and knows and has confidence in the plain teachings of the Word of God, to him the light has been turned on. And even though he may live in a dark and gloomy world,

and even though that darkness and that gloom may deepen with every passing day, he has no reason to be afraid and anxious because in Jesus the lights have been turned on, the revelation of God has come to him, he's read the last chapter in the book, he knows how it's all going to turn out and he knows that the Lord is victor and is in control of the entire situation

and everything that is happening is just moving according to divine plan oh isn't it marvelous just to see how God's working everything out I uh it's interesting to read some of these older commentaries that were written 50 and 60 and 75 years ago before the advent of so many modern miracles and so many modern inventions such as television and the telephone and and the satellite that you can just see a telecast in London or Paris or Berlin and see it here at the same time. And you read those old commentaries and those men that preached about prophecy 75 years ago, they would come to some of those scriptures that would say that when the Lord comes, every eye is going to see him. Or when

Antichrist comes, the whole world is going to hear him when he speaks. And they would say that has to be figurative language because that's just an impossibility. And we know today that's just child's play. Just child's play. Listen, have you heard about the common market? And the four other nations have been added to the common market. And four plus six, I believe, equals ten. Now, you go back home today and you read the book of Daniel

and see what Daniel has to say about when the Lord comes back and when the end begins to come about that 10 nation confederation that's going to be dominating the European continent. You go home and read that and then come back to the word of God and know that the light has been turned on and you don't need to be anxious and in dread and in fear about the future now the thessalonians were they believed the lord was going to come back but they believed he was going to come back in their day they believed it so much that some of them were just sitting down waiting on him and paul writes and he says now that you can't do that if a man

doesn't work he doesn't eat now you get out and you get busy and you do what God has called you to do and you wait for the coming of the Lord. But to wait for the coming of the Lord means your attitude of expectancy and preparation, not sitting down doing nothing with folded hands. You wait for the Lord in the attitude of expectancy, but you be busy. But they were anxious about the future. They said, some of our people have died. Are they going to miss out on all of this?

And so Paul, in order to encourage them and to alleviate their fears, receives a word from the Lord, a revelation from the Lord, and he writes this passage, and I think that we do not have a greater description of what is next on God's prophetic program than we have right here in this passage. We have here an exact record of what's going to happen next after this morning, the next thing that's going to happen. And Paul begins by saying, I don't want you to be ignorant,

brethren, about these things, about those that have fallen asleep. And God does not want us to be in the dark and to be ignorant about these things that are going to happen. Well, what is the sequence of His coming? What's going to be the first thing that's going to happen when Jesus comes? And what's going to be the second thing and the next thing?

What are the sequence of events? The first thing that God is going to deal with when Jesus comes back, He's going to deal with those of us who have been saved. The first business on the agenda of the Lord's coming is to take care of his own and to bring his own into the fullness of the promise of salvation so let's look at these verses and we're going to see the sequence of his coming now the first thing that's going to happen. When the time is right.

When the fullness of time has come. And God the father says. It is enough. It is time. And the archangel sounds. And there's the shout. And the trumpet blows. The first thing that's going to happen is.

There is going to be the savior. Returning in the air. Look at that 16th verse. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And so Paul says the very next thing that is on God's agenda is the return of the Savior. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven. Now notice He's coming from heaven. That means there is going to be a divine intervention in the affairs of men.

One is coming who comes with all the authority and majesty and power of heaven. He's coming from heaven and He's the only one that can intervene and solve our problems. But notice He says, it is the Lord himself. Now that word himself is in the emphatic position in the Greek text, and the Holy Spirit just seems to put it that way to make certain that nobody would misunderstand that what's going to come on the clouds of heaven is not a mighty angel, it's not a substitute,

but it is the Lord himself the same one you remember in acts 1 11 when jesus ascended up into heaven the disciples stood there gazing trying to get just one last glimpse of their lord and these two angels in white apparel came and said ye men of galilee Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus shall so come again. This same Jesus, no substitute. Why does the Holy Spirit emphasize that it's going to be the Lord himself? Well, I think for one reason, a great many people have had the idea that the second coming of the Lord is something other than the second coming of the Lord is something other than the second coming of the Lord. I was reading not long ago a very popular commentary and said that the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was the second coming of the Lord. But the Bible says the

Lord himself, this same Jesus, no other, no other. And you see, it uses in this passage, it uses the earthly name of Jesus in verse 14. Them which sleep in Jesus. In Acts 1.11, it uses the earthly name of Jesus to emphasize that death is not the second coming of the Lord. The gospel being preached around the world is not the second coming of the Lord, which many people say it is. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is not the second coming of the Lord, which many people say it is. The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is not the second coming of the Lord. The second coming of the Lord is when this same Jesus with the nail prints in his hand. You say, I thought he had a glorified body. I thought those nail prints wouldn't be in his hand. Well, I thought they wouldn't be either, but they're in his hands because when he met the disciples in the upper room, he was in his resurrected glorified

body, but he still had the nail prints in his hand. Why? Because the Father doesn't want us to mistake anybody else for Jesus. He comes with indelible proven evidence that this same Jesus is so coming. Why the same one? Why the same one? Why doesn't he send an angel? Well, angels can be deceived. Lucifer deceived them a long time ago in heaven. And you see, Jesus knows his own. He said in John 10, I know my sheep. I know my sheep. I know my sheep and they know me. And so the Lord himself is going to come. The very next thing that's going to happen on God's prophetic program is that the Lord himself is going to return in clouds of glory. Well, what after that? Well, then immediately after that, there's going to be the resurrection of the saints,

the resurrection of the saints. Notice what he says in that 16th verse, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Now, this entire passage has primarily to do about that first resurrection, about the resurrection of those who have died in the Lord. Now, I want us to examine these verses, and I want us to discover three important facts about the dead in Christ. The dead in Christ. First of all, the Bible says that the dead in Christ are asleep in Jesus. They are asleep.

Notice how many times the apostle uses the word sleep for death. He says in verse 13, I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep. In verse 14, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus. Verse 15, then we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which are asleep over and over again. It speaks of the dead in Christ as those who are asleep. When Stephen was being stoned in the seventh chapter of Acts, the Bible says that he asked the father to receive his spirit and then he what? He fell asleep. Now why do you suppose that the Bible describes the death of a Christian as sleep?

It never describes the death of a lost man as sleep. It describes the death of a Christian as sleep because there is nothing to be afraid of in sleep. Sleep is something that is restful. Sleep recognizes that the person still is alive, still is existing. Sleep is only temporary. It is not a permanent condition. And notice he says that those who die in the Lord, they just fall asleep. They just fall asleep. Now I want you to notice something in verse 14. He says, they sleep in Jesus. And you take your pencil and out the margin of your Bible, you write these words. They sleep through Jesus.

They sleep through Jesus. That little preposition in is a little Greek preposition, which means agency and which means something done through the power of another person. So here's what he's saying. Those who have died in the Lord, the Christian dead, they are asleep through the agency of Jesus Christ. What that means is that Jesus put them to sleep. Jesus laid them to sleep. When a Christian dies, and this is the picture that the apostle is painting here.

It doesn't come out in your English, but this is the picture and the image that the apostle is using. As a mother takes a little child in her arms and strokes its brow, and that little baby goes to sleep. He says that's what the Lord does for a Christian. When a saint, when a born-again believer comes to the place of death, it's the Lord Jesus Christ taking that Christian, that blood-bought believer into his arms and putting him to sleep.

You see, in Revelation chapter 1, when we have that vision of the risen and glorified Lord, it says that Jesus has what? The keys of death and hell. He has the keys of death and key is a symbol of authority. And so the Bible pictures death as a gate and nobody can go to death, nobody can die unless that gate is open. Who has the key to unlock the door? Jesus Christ. Nobody else. The devil doesn't have the key. The world doesn't have the key. Jesus has the key of death and hell. And nobody dies unless Jesus sticks the key into the lock, unlocks it, and swings open the door. So

when a Christian dies, he need never be afraid, and we need never to grieve and worry and wonder because when a Christian dies, it's simply because Jesus has inserted the key and opened the door and allowed that Christian to pass into his presence. Jesus has the key. And you see, I live through Jesus. I was saved through Jesus. I pray through Jesus. I die through Jesus.

He is the mediator. He is the agency of everything that happens to me. When a Christian dies, it's because Jesus has laid him asleep. Now, I want us to notice and emphasize here that it is the body which sleeps, not the spirit. It is the body which sleeps, not the spirit. When the Christian dies, he does not go into a world of unconsciousness and stay there awaiting resurrection day. Not at all. Not at all. When a Christian dies, his spirit goes to be with Jesus, and he is alive, he is awake, and he is conscious. You read over in the book of Revelation, and it says that those who have died

stand before the throne and they worship him day and night. It is the body which sleeps. It is the body which sleeps. It is not the spirit. It is not the soul. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to resurrect the dead,

he's not going to resurrect souls. He's not going to resurrect spirits. He's going to resurrect sleeping bodies. Resurrect sleeping bodies. It is the body that sleeps, not the spirit. The spirit is alive and awake and conscious in the presence of Jesus. Presence of Jesus. Now, not only are we asleep in Jesus when we die, but we are abiding with Jesus. We are abiding with Jesus. Look in that 14th verse. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now, how is it that a Christian can be in the grave, and yet the Bible says when Jesus comes, he's going to bring all of those who have died with him? Because it is the body that is in the grave, it is the body that is sleeping, that spirit is in the presence of Jesus. Ecclesiastes 12, 7 says that when the body dies, it returns to the dust of the earth, but the spirit returns to its creator. Philippians chapter 1, Paul says, I have a desire to depart and to be with the Lord, which is far

better. Second Corinthians 5, 8 says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When Jesus died on the cross, he says, Father, into thy hands, what? I commend my spirit. When Stephen died, he said, Lord, receive my spirit. And that person who dies is in the presence of Jesus. And I want you to know he doesn't want to leave it. He doesn't want to leave it. You know, sometimes people say, well, I wish we had the power of resurrection today. I wish we could do like Jesus did and do like some of the apostles did.

When somebody dies, we could just command them to come out and raise them again. Oh, listen, friend, if they're saved, you'd be robbing them. I believe they'd come back mad at you. I don't have time to go into it this morning, but you read through the Gospels and you'll discover that once a person was in the presence of Jesus, they never wanted to leave it. And listen, if you don't enjoy being in the presence of Jesus,

there's something wrong with you. But anytime anyone got into the presence of Jesus, they didn't want to leave it. You remember when Saul called Samuel back from the dead to interview him and ask some questions? You remember what Samuel said? Samuel was upset.

He said, Saul, why have you disquieted me? Samuel was happy to be in the presence of the Lord. He didn't want to come back to this old earth. That person who dies in Jesus goes to be with the Lord and that person who dies without Jesus goes to the place of torments to await judgment. And then they will arise through Jesus. These three things about those who are dead in Christ, they're asleep in Jesus, they're abiding with Jesus, and they will arise through His power when He comes back. The dead in Christ shall rise first.

What's God going to raise? He's going to raise these bodies. You say, well, what about those men that went down in ships? What about those men in the war whose bodies were blown to bits? What about, well, if God in the beginning could take some dust and out of it form and fashion a human body, do you think he's going to have any problem with that? Not at all. Not at all.

The Bible says that God is going to resurrect these bodies. What kind of body is that going to be? I don't really know. First Corinthians 15 says it's going to be a body that's incorruptible. That means it'll never decay again. It says it's going to be a body of glory. It says it's going to be a body of power. It says it's going to be a spiritual body. But the most important thing, it is going to be a body like unto his glorious body. First John chapter 3 says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear

what we shall be, but this much we do know, that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And we shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye eye we shall all be changed like unto his glorious body you say will we be recognizable oh yes that's right first corinthians chapter 15 verse 33 but god giveth it a body as it hath pleased him and to every seed his own body will be recognizable you remember when moses and elijah appeared with jesus on the mount of transfiguration and the james and john and peter were there and they said hey that's moses and elijah how'd they know that did they look it up in the photo album how did they recognize

moses and elijah moses and elijah had lived thousands of years before them how did they know them i don't know but they knew them they knew them what's that body going to be like i don't know but paul says in first corinthians chapter 15 is your resurrection body is going to be similar to this when you drop a little seed into the ground what comes out well that seed but in a man you would never have imagined that that little acorn could produce that giant tree. And he says that's the way it is. That old body that is sin-ridden, that old body of yours is the seed, and it's going to be dropped into the ground.

It's going to be raised, but man, it's going to be far beyond anything you could ever imagine. It's going to be like that tree that grows out of the acorn. It's going to be a glorious body like unto his glorified body just like jesus all right well what after that after the resurrection of saints there's going to be the rapture of the survivors we're the survivors two times paul says speaks of us as alive as those who are left those who are surviving those who remain the dead in christ shall rise first. Now notice verse 17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now this is what we call the rapture. Now the word rapture is not found in the Bible. The word rapture is the Latin word that means to snatch, to seize, to take away.

And this Greek word in verse 17, that we'll be caught up, is the same word that is used in Acts chapter 8 when Philip, after he had baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, the Spirit snatched him away, just grabbed him forcefully away. It's the same word translated here. It means that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back, and there are basically three meanings to that word caught up. First of all, it means to capture them and take them away by force.

Now remember we said last Sunday that Jesus is going to descend in the air, and that word air means this lower atmosphere, which Ephesians 2 and 2 says is the domain and the territory of Satan. And Michael the archangel is going to fight and do battle against Satan. And you know, the devil, I believe, is going to try to oppose this. And Jesus is coming down right into his territory, invading his country, and he's going to take us away by force. And if Jesus Christ is living in our hearts by his Spirit, there'll be no power on heaven or earth that can keep us from being caught up with the Lord.

He's going to take us away by force and snatch us out of the grip of the devil. But the word also means something that is taken away speedily and swiftly. Just like that. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 52, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That little word, moment, is a combination of two words. Timnos, which means to cut into, and then it has a negative prefix, which means not able to be cut into.

We get our word Adam from that. In other words, that moment, that moment, when the dead in Christ are going to be raised and they're going to be changed, we're all going to be changed, we're all going to be caught up, is going to take place so quickly in such a span of time, it is so short that you couldn't even divide it in two. It's going to be quicker than a second because you can divide a second. It's going to be so quick and happen so speedily that you couldn't even divide the time.

No time for anything. No time to repent. No time to be saved. No time to get right with people. Just like that. One of our members said to me the other day, said the Lord's convicted me about carrying tracks around in my pocket and not giving them out.

I said, well, what are you planning on doing? Having an airdrop when the rapture comes? You know, just fill your pocket, you know, carry these tracks around all the time and never use them. Then when we're raptured, I'm just going to have an airdrop when the rapture comes, you know, just fill your pot, you know, carry these tracks around all the time and never use them. Then when we're raptured, I'm just going to have an airdrop. Listen, there won't be time to have an airdrop. There won't be time for anything. We're going to be here one minute and go on the second. Next. Just like that. The Lord is going to catch us up. And notice he says we're going to be caught up in clouds. Now you take out that little definite article before clouds. It doesn't say in the clouds. It just says in clouds, in clouds. It means that when Jesus Christ catches us up, just clouds of believers are going to go up. From MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church,

if it happens on a Sunday morning, a cloud of believers is going to just go up to meet the Lord in the air. And over here, a cloud of believers. And those of you that are left behind, you go ahead and take the offering and give the invitation. Because there will be some left behind. There will be some left behind. But it's going to be the rapture of those of us who are alive and remain. And in the moment, in the twinkling of an eye, Christ is going to seize us. And the last thing that word caught up means, to claim for oneself. Jesus is coming for me like the bridegroom comes for his bride and claims me for himself, claims me for himself. And then the last thing, there will be a reunion in the sky. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them. With who? Those who've been raised.

We shall be caught up together with them. You see, the dead in Christ are going to be raised, and then we're all together going to be changed, and all of us will be caught up together in clouds of believers to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. There's going to be a reunion with loved ones, all the dead in Christ. There's going to be a reunion with loved ones, all the dead in Christ. There's going to be a reunion with the Lord. We shall meet the Lord,

see him face to face. And then it's going to be a reunion that will last. So shall we ever, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Every time I talk about this, someone comes up and says, how can we be happy when we leave loved ones behind? What about my husband who will be left behind? What about my children who will be left behind? What about loved ones

who will be left behind? How can we be happy in heaven and how can we be happy in the presence of the Lord knowing that loved ones have been left behind to be lost forever. The Bible remains silent on that issue. All it says is that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

You won't miss them. It's been explained in various ways. I think the best explanation is this explanation that was given by Dr. James at the Evangelism Conference. He said, In heaven we will all be members of God's family. The only people who will ever go to heaven are those who have been born into God's family. He said, Those who have not been born into God's family, it will be as though they never existed. He said, you do not miss a child that was never born into your family. You probably could have had many more children than you have had.

And if you had had more children, you would have loved them. But you do not miss children that were never born. They never existed. They never existed. They were never born. So you do not miss children that were never born. And in heaven, only those who were born into the family of God will be there. And loved ones who have been left behind were never born.

They were never born. And so you don't miss them left behind were never born. They were never born. And so you don't miss them. They were never born. I think that is one of the most terrible and horrible things to consider for a man or woman who's lost. To be as though never born. Entire life wasted. He's coming.

He's coming and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now that may seem boring to some people and you might not want to spend forever and ever in the presence of Jesus and if you're saved in that soul then there's sin in your life that you need to confess and if you're lost you need to come to Jesus

in repentance of your sins and taking him as Lord and Savior. Let's bow together. While every head is bowed, Christians who can pray are praying. In just a moment we're going to stand together and our choir is going to lead us in a hymn of invitation. This is the invitation that the Lord extends to you this morning.

Some of you have never been saved. There has never been that moment when you repented of your sins, turned your back on yourself and your sins, turned your back on yourself and your sins, by an act of your will and an act of faith, said, I give my life, I surrender my life to the Lord and take Him to be my Lord and to be my Savior. If you've never done that, you can do it this morning as the Spirit of God leads you. When we stand in just a moment, you just slip out

from where you're standing, come right here to the front. I'll meet you at the front. There'll be someone to pray with you. You can be saved. You can be born into God's family this morning. Others, Christians that you're not right with God,

you can't rejoice over the fact of seeing Jesus because there's unconfessed sin in your life. And you may need to come. You may want to come and just kneel here at the altar and confess your sins to Him and get right with Him. Perhaps God speaks to you about moving your membership.

If you believe that God is leading you to come and unite with the fellowship of this church or to come on a profession the fellowship of this church, or to come on a profession of faith or baptism, whatever it is, then you do exactly what God wants you to do. Just let Him have His way with you. Heavenly Father, I pray now for every person here. And even though I don't know the spiritual need of every person,

yet I know that there are those here who are lost. Who if Jesus were to come right now, and he can, Lord, the Bible tells us that there's not anything standing in his way. All prophecies that must be fulfilled before this event takes place have been fulfilled. There's not anything keeping Jesus from coming right now and Lord one of these days and all the signs point to it being soon soon there's going to be the shout

the voice of the archangel and the trump of God and it's going to happen so quickly there'll be no time there'll be no time and there'll be some There will be no time. There will be no time. And there will be some who will be left behind to be lost forever. Lord, I pray for them this morning, that you will convict them of their sins, and that

you will draw them by your Spirit to Jesus. I pray for Christians who aren't ready for this event because they need to make reconciliation. They need to make restitution. They need to get right with people as well as get right with you. Lord, I pray for each one of them today that they take care of this business now. And Lord, those that you draw into the fellowship of our church,

we only want your will and we leave that to you. This invitation is yours. Whatever you do, we give you praise and glory for it. Just have your way with all of us. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Let's all stand together now.

The choir is going to lead us. This first verse of invitation, whatever it is that God impresses you, whatever decision you need to make, you just come right now as we sing the first verse. The Ron Dunn Podcast is available only for personal edification, not to be duplicated, uploaded to the web, or resold without prior written consent. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages,

visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.