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Commentary on "The Dead in Christ (1 Thess. 4:1318)"
Day 6: Thursday, August 23, 2012 - Comfort One Another (1 Thess. 4:13, 17, 18)
Overview
Today, the author says the key theme of the passage (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) is the act of reuniting with each other and being together with Jesus.
Commentary
Interestingly, this idea does not come from Scripture, but rather from Ellen White, the Adventist prophet.
“The Thessalonians had eagerly grasped the idea that Christ was coming to change the faithful who were alive, and to take them to Himself. They had carefully guarded the lives of their friends, lest they should die and lose the blessing which they looked forward to receiving at the coming of their Lord. But one after another their loved ones had been taken from them, and with anguish the Thessalonians had looked for the last time upon the faces of their dead, hardly daring to hope to meet them in a future life.
“As Paul’s epistle was opened and read, great joy and consolation was brought to the church by the words revealing the true state of the dead. Paul showed that those living when Christ should come would not go to meet their Lord in advance of those who had fallen asleep in Jesus.”- Acts of the Apostles, Page 258.
The key theme of this passage from a purely Biblical standpoint, is to comfort and edify the church with the knowledge that those who are in Christ will experience no separation from Him. Paul teaches that those who are alive when Christ returns will have no advantage over those who have preceded them in death, because ALL believers are equally in Christ.
Summary
- The author of the Sabbath School Lesson states that the key theme of this passage is to teach that loved ones will be reunited with one another as well as with Christ.
- This is not a Biblical teaching. The New Testament writers are clear that to be in Christ means just that: in Christ, without separation.
Copyright 2012 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised August 21, 2012. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Camp Verde, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 8
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 8
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 8
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
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