And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. (1st Thessalonians 1:6-10)
The
Thessalonian epistles provide yet another clue that the believer’s hope was not
immediate Heaven at death but was firmly centred upon the future return of
Jesus Christ which, according to chapter four, coincides with the resurrection
of ‘the dead in Christ’.
Paul’s
commendation (not only his, but Silvanus’ and Timothy’s also – see 1:1) of the
Thessalonian saints was that they had readily welcomed the apostles, ‘turned
to God from idols’ and were waiting ‘for His Son from heaven’. Among
these three commendations it is the latter that is revealed as the hope of this
early church.
Now
may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to
you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and
to all, just as we do to you,
so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and
Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. (1st Thessalonians 3:11-13)
Why were the believers to ‘increase and abound in love to one another and to all’? Was it to
prove they were really ‘saved’ (as is often said to be the motivation for God’s
people to continue in good works)? Not according to Paul: loving one another is
plainly a necessity here for a positive outcome ‘at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’.
Although there is neither a confirmation nor
refutation of ‘going to Heaven when we die’ in these words, it makes the
doctrine very odd in light of what Paul has said. Were the Thessalonian saints
to believe it possible that their immaterial souls would ascend to a place of
bliss for an undetermined period of time even though their hearts may not have
been established ‘blameless in holiness’?
Could they spend their whole time in Heaven aware that when the Lord returns to
earth they would face His judgement for their failure?
But
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen
asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who
sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are
alive and remain until the
coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 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. Therefore comfort one another with
these words. (1st
Thessalonians 4:13-18)
In the context of grieving over fellow believers, in
which doctrinal truth were the Thessalonians to find comfort? Paul details the
resurrection as that hope.
It is possible to see an argument for the doctrine of
intermediate Heaven in the following words: ‘even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus’.
When Jesus returns will saints be coming with Him from Heaven?
I believe that re-reading the above passage will
counter such thinking. The statement is premised upon the following condition:
‘if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again’. The bodily resurrection of Christ dictates how the rest of the
clause is to be understood. ‘For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him
those who sleep in Jesus.’ As earlier in this document, it would help to
recognise the Greek word used for ‘even
so’: ‘οὕτως
(outōs), meaning ‘in
this way’. How will God bring those who sleep in Jesus with Him when
Jesus returns? In the same way
that Jesus died and rose! This is hardly surprising given that the entire
context is about physical resurrection.
When Jesus returns, who will
be brought along to rule with Him? The answer is the ‘dead in Christ’ who will be raised on that day. That is how they
will be ‘brought with’ Christ. This is the comfort that the Thessalonians were
to provide for each other concerning those of their fellowship that had died.
If they were in Heaven already, that
undoubtedly would be comfort enough!
We
are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your
faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward
each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for
your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you
endure, which is manifest
evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of
the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those
who trouble you, and to give
you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those
who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be
glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because
our testimony among you was believed. (2nd
Thessalonians 1:3-10)
As with the first epistle, the Thessalonians’ faithful
obedience has the focus of when ‘the Lord
Jesus is revealed from heaven’. Chapter four of the previous epistle has
confirmed that this coincides with the resurrection of the ‘dead in Christ’. Again, the Bible is
clear about the event upon which the saint should be focused. Following the
train of thought in both Thessalonian epistles, the Christian hope is centred upon
the return of Christ and the saint’s resurrection with its inherent judgements.
It becomes increasingly difficult to understand how ‘going to Heaven’ fits any
biblical framework.
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