“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 comfort one another with these words.” (1Th 4:16-18 AV)
A very familiar passage. There is something at the end which is very important. Thrice in this book of First Thessalonians, Paul tells his audience to comfort one another. The book begins with Paul’s stated goal of comforting the church. Twice, the context of comfort is in the truth that Jesus is coming back. Twice in this book, eternity is the source of comfort. This was spoken to a church almost two thousand years ago. So, if Paul is telling this church to comfort one another in the faith that Jesus is coming back, why do we not do this today? After all, aren’t we two thousand years close to Jesus’ return? If the saints could comfort one another with something that wouldn’t occur for two millennia, why is in not even more important to do so today?
Rainbows are a funny thing. Depending on which side of the rainbow you are on, we can see it as a storm already passed, or a storm in the process of passing. The latter was common in my last state of residency. Weather was often severe. Storms were intense and often small. They were violent and tornados were frequent. It was not out of the ordinary to have a horrible storm yet see blue sky off in the west or south. We could be under a tornado threat but see clear skies in the distance. It was common to be under dark clouds and heavy winds being pelted by inches of rain, yet still see a rainbow to our south or west. That rainbow, no matter how far off it was, told of the coming fair weather. We may have been under a severe threat of losing our home, but that rainbow told us the conditions were not going to last forever. The rainbow was a sign that bad times were coming to an end. To close our eyes to the obvious meant being overburdened with a storm that would soon pass.
I am of a generation that was saturated with prophecy. Israel returning to Palestine in 1948 started a firestorm of information regarding the end-times prophecy. I can remember my pastor, who was pastor for only three years, spent Sunday nights preaching on Prophecy. In the three years I was under him, he preached Zachariah, Daniel, and Revelation. Our church was very visually oriented, so there were professional banners hung all around our auditorium depicting the main ideas of the book we were studying. Some of the first books I read regarded prophetic themes. End time prophecy is a major theme throughout the word of God. The promises to Abraham, Isaac, and David will come to pass. The promise of Jesus reigning on earth will happen. This present world will cease. God’s revealed plan will consummate. Events foretold in the word of God are destined to be a reality. Knowing the future and the hope of it is what helps us endure a less than perfect world. It is the hope of holiness and righteousness wherein our God and Savior Jesus Christ is worshipped by all is the life that courses through our blood. We cannot affect it. Jesus will come back when the Father determines it to happen. Even if he tarries for another millennium, we are to comfort one another with the hope of His return. Jesus is coming back. Perhaps sooner than we think. Maybe not. But He is coming back. To remain silent about it robs one another of the comfort by which we are to comfort one another. If we take that hope away, we risk incentive to do anything. Therefore, comfort one another!
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