The Hope of Resurrection

We live in a fallen and broken world. From global conflicts to national tensions and local disasters, it's easy to wonder what's happening around us. But as Christians, we have hope in Jesus and His return.

Today, we're exploring how our understanding of end times has drifted from what first-century Christians believed to what many believe today.

Growing up, I was told certain things that I later discovered weren't true. Similarly, our theology can be influenced by what we've always heard rather than what Scripture actually teaches.

When it comes to end times, many of us have formed our understanding from movies, books, TV shows, and popular preachers rather than studying what the Bible says. We've become accustomed to charts, timelines, and constantly looking for signs that "the end is near."

The Modern "Left Behind" View

The popular view portrayed in the "Left Behind" series—that Christians will be raptured away while non-believers are left on earth to suffer—is actually very new in church history. This view, called dispensationalism or premillennialism, didn't exist in the first century.

This theology emerged in the early 1800s through John Nelson Darby and spread widely in the early 1900s through the Scofield Bible. It primarily focuses on 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

Many interpret this as Christians being taken to heaven with Jesus. But is that what the text is really saying?

What Did First-Century Christians Actually Believe?

The first Christians didn't talk about being "raptured away." Their hope was different. Let's look at what Scripture actually says:

Jesus Will Return to Earth

Acts 1:11 tells us: "This same Jesus who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way that you have seen him go to heaven."

The disciples expected Jesus to return to earth, not to take them away from it.

Christ Will Resurrect His People

1 Corinthians 15:22-23 says: "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ the first fruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him."

Creation Will Be Redeemed

Romans 8:19-21 explains: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed... the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God."

First-century Christians believed in the total redemption of creation—not escaping earth, but the renewal of earth.

Understanding 1 Thessalonians in Context

When we read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 in context, we see Paul addressing concerns about believers who had already died. Would they miss Christ's return?

Paul assures them that the dead in Christ will rise first, then living believers will join them. But this isn't about escaping earth. In first-century culture, when a king returned victorious, citizens would go out to meet him and escort him back to the city. They wouldn't leave with the king to another land.

Similarly, believers will meet Christ in the air to escort Him back to earth as He returns in victory.

What About "One Taken, One Left"?

Matthew 24:40-41 is often cited as evidence for the rapture: "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken, the other left."

But Jesus prefaces this by saying: "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37).

In Noah's story, who stayed on earth? The righteous (Noah and his family). The wicked were "taken away" by the flood. Following this parallel, those "taken" in Matthew 24 are not the saved but the judged. The righteous remain to inherit the earth.

What Does Revelation Really Show?

Revelation is apocalyptic literature—a genre we don't have today. Reading it literally without understanding its context leads to confusion.

Revelation 21:1-3 gives clarity: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth... I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.'"

John doesn't see believers leaving earth for heaven. He sees heaven coming down to a renewed earth. This is Eden restored—a world without sin's curse.

Revelation 22 continues this vision with the river of life, the tree of life bearing fruit, and "the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse."

God's Plan: Redemption, Not Escape

From Eden until now, God's plan has been redemption. Sin corrupted all creation, and God has been working to redeem it—first through Israel, then through Jesus' sacrifice, and ultimately through Christ's return.

The earth won't be destroyed but redeemed. Heaven and earth will be united as God intended from the beginning.

How should this understanding change how we live?

Don't live in fear of missing the rapture. Live in the hope of resurrection.

Embrace God's redemptive plan rather than an escape plan. God's intention is to redeem creation, not abandon it.

Be salt and light now. Bring healing, justice, and the love of Jesus wherever you go.

See your home, workplace, and neighborhood as places where heaven can meet earth—glimpses of the New Jerusalem.

Ask yourself:

Am I living in fear of end times or in the joy of resurrection?

How can I participate in God's redemptive work in my community today?

What would change if I viewed my daily life as part of bringing heaven to earth?

The biblical hope isn't about escape but renewal. Not fear but joy. Not rapture but resurrection. Let's live as citizens of the New Jerusalem today.

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