BIOLA RADIO PROPHECY MESSAGE
Q
by Dr. Ralph L. Keiper
JOY AMID SORROW
O NE OF THE GREAT focal points of prophecy relating to the rtetum of the Lord is centered in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. This wonderful portion deals with the rapture (being “caught up”) of the Church. It is true that the prophetic Word has been greatly abused by some. Be cause of this, many are not interested in such studies today. But the Bible teaches us that the second coming of our Lord was given to bring blessing to believers. We do great harm to the truth and an injustice to ourselves when we miss the teaching. This is why Paul said, “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concern ing them which are asleep, that ye sor row not, even as others which have no hope.” The greatest enemy of man is Satan, and the devil’s final tool is death. The minds of jnen, poets, philosophers, sci entists, and even theologians, down, through the centuries, have been en deavoring to assail the mysteries that surround death. The Word of God re veals to us, however, that, as believers, death does not need to hold any terror for us. Paul uses a very interesting word to describe death. It is the word sleep. This, in itself, has been the cause of much erroneous teaching. Some of the cults declare that it is because of verses like this that “soul sleeping” is a doc trine taught in the Bible. Such is com pletely false and preposterous. Rather, the confirmation of Scripture is that we are “absent from the body and present with the Lord.” It is the body, not the soul or spirit that sleeps. We should never Say the eyes hear, or the mouth sees, or the ears smell. Each part of our anatomy has a particular function. It does not carry on that of another. In life, when we say a person is asleep, we mean his body is, not his soul. In pagan religions death means eter
nal separation from loved ones. This is certainly not true as far as the Chris tian is concerned. Paul indicates that when a believer dies, his body sleeps in the grave but that his soul is with the Lord. Whenever the Apostle Paul wants to point out a significant truth he begins by saying, “I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.” If you were to take a concordance and trace this ex pression you would discover that prac tically every major doctrine Paul teach es is similarly introduced. You see, the Holy Spirit wants ds to weave these things into our daily experience and to make them a part of our lives. We are not to sorrow as do the peo ple of the world. Death to the unbe liever is a damp, cold grave. There is nothing left but lonely memories. No wonder a person would be terrified at the thought of dying. Those loved ones, observing helplessly, know the empti ness and void; the questions as to where their departed have gone are in their minds. Death to them presents a pic ture of absolute hopelessness. On the other hand, you and I have confidence. We not only have salvation here and now, but also for the hereafter. What does it mean “to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord-?” Let me give you a little example. I am here at my desk before the microphone. Through the glass win dows of the control room I can see our engineer. Suppose, for some reason or other, I dropped dead of a heart attack. I fall from the chair, my body hits the floor, my technician is na turally startled. Do you know, before he can do anything about it, before he can come into the studio, I will be in the presence of my blessed Lord. What will have fallen from the chair is the house in which I have lived. I will not even be in attendance at my own funeral. The tent, oft patched up, in (continued on next page)
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