Where is the character of God? Where is the Gospel of God? Where is the
encouragement? Where is the exhortation?
We are going to make our way back to 1 Thessalonians today. We departed
from Thessalonica for the summer. Typically, we have taken a trip into the
Old Testament over the summers here at CBC. We left the letter at a
strategic point. Paul was about to transition into matters known as
eschatology.
Eschatology is a compound word.
Eschaton is a Greek word that means last. Ology of course is the suffix
meaning study. Eschatology then is the study of last things. Studying
eschatology together is a great experience. It gets right at the heart of
how we handle God’s revelation to us. So, you will learn a lot about what
we believe about Scripture here at CBC by how we approach eschatology. My
goal is to provide as much clarity possible as we cover this ground.
Paul speaks of the return of Jesus in 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff and the topic
raises a number of questions and issues. Most significantly is the rapture,
that is, the catching up of believers to meet Jesus face to face. This
passage raises questions about when and how this will happen.