Steve Webb  0:00  
This event is often called the rapture

Steve Webb  0:09  
Hello there, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I'm your OG God Gaster. Steve Webb, welcome. What's new? How are ya? This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today, we're gonna read First Thessalonians, four and five. I'll have comments on both chapters, actually quite a few comments, and I'm calling today's episode, How To prepare the shownotes page for today's episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12. E to 14, you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Well, you ready? Let's go. 

Steve Webb  0:48  
First Thessalonians chapter four. Finally, our friends, you learn from us how you should live in order to please God. This is of course the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more. For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be wholly and completely free from sexual immorality. Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way. Not with a lustful desire like the heathen who do not know God in this manner, then none of you should do wrong to other Christians or take advantage of them. We have told you this before. And we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that. God did not call us to live in a morality but in holiness. So then whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being but God who gives you His Holy Spirit. There is no need to write you about love for each other, you yourselves have been taught by God, how you should love one another. And you have in fact behaved like this toward all the believers in all of Macedonia. So we beg you, our friends, to do even more, make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living just as we told you before. In this way, you will win the respect of those who are not believers. And you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need. Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. And so we believe that God will take back with Jesus, those who have died believing in Him. What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching. we who are alive on the day of the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died, there will be the shout of command, the archangels voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord Himself who will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first, then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then encourage one another with these words. 

Steve Webb  3:04  
First Thessalonians chapter five. There is no need to write you friends about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you, yourself know very well that the day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. When people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor and people will not escape. But you friends are not in the darkness and the day should not take you by surprise like a thief. All of your people who belong to the light, who belong to the day, we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then we should not be sleeping like the others. We should be awake and sober. It is at night when people sleep. It is at night when they get drunk. But we belong to the day and we should be sober. We must wear faith in love as a breastplate and our hope of salvation as a helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger, but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us in order that we might live together with him whether we are alive or dead when he comes. And so encourage one another and help one another just as you are now doing. We beg you our friends to pay proper respect to those who work among you who guide and instruct you in the Christian life. Treat them with the greatest respect and love because of the work they do. Be at peace among yourselves. We urge you, our friends to warn the idol encourage the timid, help the weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but at all times. Make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people. Be joyful always pray at all

Steve Webb  4:51  
times. Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. Do not respect Train the Holy Spirit. Do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test, keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil. May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way, and keep your whole being spirit, soul and body, free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you will do it because he is faithful. Pray also for us friends, greet all the believers with a kiss of peace. I urge you by the authority of the Lord, to read this letter to all the believers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Steve Webb  5:40  
All right, well, today in this first section of my comments, I'm going to explain a little bit about how I do my Bible study. We're talking about chapter four here. And in doing this, I hope I can help you enrich your reading of the Bible. And so let's get started. Now, most of us who are serious about Bible study, know that reading for more than one translation is a good thing, especially if you're going to be teaching or preaching. Well, today's reading is an excellent example of why it's a good idea to have more than one translation. The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. And in that chapter four, verses four and five says, Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God. Well, as I read that, it seemed just kind of off to me. Not that there's anything wrong with living with your wife in a holy and honorable way. But tying this thought to, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen just really didn't sit right with me because sexual desire between a husband and a wife is a gift from God. So I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. And here are some examples of verse for the English Standard Version says that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. The NIV says that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable. And then for good measure, the King James says that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification, and honor. So the English Standard and the NIV agree on the translation of body, but as you heard, the King James said, possess his vessel. And none of these three referred to the wife. So I read this verse in several other translations, the New American Standard Young's Literal translation, the Holman, Christian Standard Bible, the New Living Translation, and all of them agreed on the body, and the God's word translation and contemporary English version used wife in one way or another. So what do we do? How should this verse properly be translated, we need to go to the original language. And thankfully, we don't need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. To find out, the first thing I do is consult what is called an interlinear New Testament, an interlinear New Testament has the complete text of the New Testament, with the Greek words appearing either directly above or directly below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That's the first step. The next step, if you don't know Greek, is to use either a Strong's exhaustive concordance or a Young's analytical concordance. When I did this study, I used the Young's both Young's and Strong's use the King James. So I looked up the word vessel, I didn't look up body, I looked up vessel because that's the word that we want to look at. And I found out that there are two Greek words used in the New Testament that are translated into the English word vessel. One of these words is used only twice in the book of Matthew. And in this case, the word means vessel or utensil. The other Greek word is used 18 times in the New Testament, and it means vessel utensil or instrument, and this is the word in our reading today. Now, in my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this. Our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls. And we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust, as do those who don't know God. There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I therefore don't think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it. The argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and or wives because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. And since he was teaching against what the King James refers to as fornication, In this section of the Bible, or what we today would call sexual immorality, he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife. And so now you know a little bit about how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing. But as you read them, it's important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word for word accuracy, and they emphasize more of an idea for IDEA approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong's, or the Young's concordances, and an interlinear Bible combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit's guidance, I believe that we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture. And it really does add a whole lot to your understanding and your enjoyment of Bible study. Now, let's take a look at verses 13 through 18. Here in chapter four, these verses deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at His return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often called the rapture. Well, where do we get that term? We didn't see the word rapture in that chapter, right? Well, the Latin Vulgate, translated the phrase caught up as Rapp tourists, which is where we get the word rapture. Now, I know it sounds like a fantastic event. It sounds like it could be a fairy tale. But listen, this event will happen. Paul said, what we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching. So in saying this, Paul was emphasizing that this is not his idea, but it came directly from Jesus. Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote this. In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here in we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth. So there really should be no doubt on the part of the believer that this is something this rapture, this catching up, is something that will happen at some time in the future. Well, that brings us to chapter five. And I believe that it's important to reiterate what Jesus said in Matthew 2436. He said, however, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen. Not even the angels in heaven, or the sun himself, only the Father knows. I think whenever we study in Times prophecy that we need to remember that I've talked a lot about that recently. So I won't expand on that thought anymore at this point. So here in verse two, in chapter five, Paul told the Thessalonians, that the day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. Now a thief does not make an announcement letting his victims know when he'll arrive, right? In the same way, we don't know when Jesus will return. But like the prudent homeowner who prepares for the thief, we must also be prepared. And then Paul continued at verse three. When people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. So for those who are unprepared for the unbeliever, this day will be a sad one. Indeed, destruction will hit them. Yeah, it'll be too late at that point for them. Now, listen, there was also a clue in this statement as to the conditions in the world when Jesus returns. Again, Paul said, when people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. So when the rapture happens, it'll come when there is quiet in safety in the world. But in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus when they'll know that his return is coming. And he told the disciples what signs to look for. He talks about the abomination of desolation from the book of Daniel, the destruction of the temple. Now, some people believe that this happened in AD 70. Others believe the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem at some time in the future, and that this is where the abomination of desolation will take place. Now, we don't have time on the show to get into that debate. And as I've said, I'm pretty dogmatic about not being dogmatic when it comes to end times prophecy. But what we can know for sure, is that Jesus talked about a terrible time coming prior to his return. So then what do we do with the quiet and safe that Paul talked about here before the rapture, and with the turmoil that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24? Well, it seems to me that the rapture is going to occur before the tribulation begins.

Steve Webb  14:51  
But let me hurry to say that others believe it'll happen halfway through the tribulation, and still others think that it'll be at the end of the tribulation. There are lots of plausible arguments for each theory. And many books have been written by people who have spent lots of time poring over the scriptures. I read several of them back in the 80s. But since then I've not read any others, I think it's more important, just to know that Jesus will return and it we must be ready. Well, how do we get ready? Good question. It's an important question. Here's the answer. We have to know that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. That's it. Jesus has to be our Lord and Savior. Really, preparing for his return is no different than preparing for eternity. Each of us if Jesus doesn't come back first, we'll die. No, but he gets out of here alive. So what happens when we die? Well, if we've placed our faith in Jesus will go to heaven. So preparing for his return is no more than living our lives in such a way that pleases God. First, we accept Jesus as our Savior. And then we want to live in such a way that we glorify God. We're here on planet Earth, to do just that, to glorify God, we're to share the good news of a risen Savior. We're to be salt and light, as Jesus said, we are to make disciples, as he said, In the Great Commission, just before He ascended into heaven, we are not in anticipation of is coming to withdraw from the world and just wait, that would be a terrible waste of time, talent and treasure, as in Jesus parable in Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. In the Lord would not be pleased. If you don't know what that parable is. Look it up Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. So my question is this. Are you prepared? Have you placed your faith in Jesus? Do you know that you'll go to heaven when you die? Or that you'll meet Jesus in the air if the rapture happens? Listen, this is important. You don't have to wonder if you'll make it. It isn't about being good enough. You can't get good enough. There's no such thing. All of us have sinned. We need the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide. He died on a cross taking my sins, and yours on himself. And then on the third day, he rose from the grave proving that He is God. And then over the next 50 days before He ascended into heaven, he was seen by more than 500 people. Don't believe me, check first Corinthians 1516. Do you want to be sure that you're ready? Let him know. Invite him in. Pray this prayer. Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner. And I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I turn from my sins now. And I ask that from this point on, you would be my Lord. Help me, Lord, to live for you. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, and you meant those words, you have begun a brand new life. Congratulations. Second Corinthians 517 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. And whether you felt anything or not, you have God's promise. We don't live by emotions, but by the word of God. And His Word says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. Now, if you prayed that prayer, I would love to send you a special edition of the New Testament called the new believers Bible. It has hundreds of notes written in it to help new believers get a good foundation, and it's free. I'm not charging you for it. I just want to send it to you. Send me an email to let me know you've prayed that prayer, and then let me know where to mail it. And it's yours. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. It's my gift to you. I won't put you on a list. I won't sell or share your info. I just want to send you this gift. And God bless you. Welcome to the family of God. You have comments on what I said today. I'd love to hear him. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 214. Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know. And tomorrow we're going to read Leviticus 22 through 24 Boost. Lester Graber doubled his monthly donation he sent in $20 via Zell Thank you very much, Lester. God bless you, my

Steve Webb  19:23  
brother. Thank you for your consistent monthly support. I appreciate you so much. And then yesterday I mentioned a comment that I got from John front using the the fountain comments application in that John mentioned the iron sharpens iron radio podcast with Chris ARNs in the March 18 episode with guest Gary Damar. While I've listened to that episode, John and I agree it is a good discussion. On the podcast they talked about Gog and Magog and whether biblical prophecy is referring to Russia as being a player in the in times and then they also had a more general discussion of How through the centuries people have read prophetical scriptures from the perspective of their own times. And that is something that yes, people do. And that's why I've taken the stance that I don't get dogmatic on any of this stuff. But if you do have two hours, it is a worthwhile listen in. John, thanks again for the recommendation.

Steve Webb  20:25  
Are you on the mailing list for the newsletter? If you are you saw me as a hippie. Yeah, a real hippie. If you're not on the mailing list, then there are more pictures to come in newsletters to COMM And all you have to do is go over to news dot Lifespring media.com. And sign up. I'm not going to sell your information, I don't share the email, your email address with anybody is just something that is kind of fun. And on the newsletter, also, we have the reading schedule for the upcoming week. So what you can do is you can read ahead, and if there are questions that you have on anything that you've read, email them to me and I'll see if I can answer your questions on the show when I get to that day's reading news dot Lifespring media.com. And Kirsty thank you so much for keeping up with that. God bless you, my sister, I appreciate you.

Steve Webb  21:26  
prayer requests. Referring back to yesterday's show again, on yesterday's show, Sean of San Pedro made the announcement with his associate producer donation that he and his wife Brittany are expecting their first child, and I forgot to pray for them on the show. So today, we have to rectify my absent mindedness. Let's pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for Your Word. We thank you most of all, for your Holy Spirit who opens our eyes. But we also thank you for the tools that you've given us to help us understand. We do want to know you better. And we do look forward to seeing you face to face. And thank you so much for blessing Shawn and Brittany with this new little life that you're forming even now, we pray, Lord, that the pregnancy will be trouble free and that this baby will be healthy and strong. And most of all that he or she will grow to love you and that they will live for you and bring glory to your name. Lord, we ask that you protect this little one, and helps Shawn and Brittany to treasure every moment as he or she grows, give them wisdom in May their household be a place of love and joy, where you are at the center of their family. I asked God today that you would bless the Lifespring family. As we think about the things we read today. Help us to live in such a way that you will be pleased with us. And that we will be salt and light. Help us to reflect you and may others see you in us. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you've got a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that quick little form there. It'll be sent to me. I'll pray for you in my own private prayer time and we'll pray together on the show prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb  23:19  
Please do share the show. If you believe that what we're doing here is important then let people know about it. Comment on the show at Lifespring media comm slash s 12 e 214. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And please help to support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. If you're happy to see a new episode in your podcast app every day, then don't you think it's time to help support it? The amount is up to you. I don't know how much value you get from the show. But go to Lifespring media.com/support. Take a look at it and then pray about it and then do as the Lord leads. That's all I asked. And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you so much for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai