All you need is one verse. Lol
That's not true LOL!
Should an important Bible teaching be based on one verse only? *
There are good reasons why we do not consider a single verse or phrase to be sufficient evidence for a first principle. For example, there is the issue of judgment. Understanding God’s judgment can be a tricky matter if we focus on one passage here or there, the main reason being that not every single relevant point is taught in every single relevant passage.
For example, in
1 Thessalonians 4:16,
17, Paul says:
“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…meet the Lord…And so we will be with the Lord forever.”1
If we read these two verses alone, without comparing other scriptures (some of Paul’s included), then we might conclude that there is absolutely no judgment at all intervening between resurrection and glorification, and that everyone who is raised must be glorified. Of course, this conclusion is contradicted by
Ecclesiastes 12:14;
Matthew 25:31-46;
Acts 10:42;
Romans 14:10-12; and
2 Corinthians 5:10, among other passages.
not every single relevant point is taught in every single relevant passage
There will plainly be some sort of judgment intervening between resurrection and the Kingdom of God although there is room for some different opinions as to:
- Where the judgment takes place,
- How long the judgment will last, and
- The procedure and order of such a judgment.
So, in
1 Thessalonians 4, why does Paul leave out any reference to judgment at all? Has he forgotten that there will be one? Of course not. He didn’t mention it because it wasn’t the main point he had in mind at that time.
He was intent on comforting some believers who were grieving for those who had died. He did this by simply reminding them that, when Christ returned, they would all be reunited—both living and dead together. Dying before Christ returned would be no barrier to entering his Father’s eternal kingdom; those who died in faith would be raised from the dead!
I think Paul did not feel the need to say, once again, “Oh, by the way, as you already know, there will be a gathering together of all those who are responsible, living and dead, and a great judgment before the Lord’s tribunal, where every man and woman will stand and give some account, and—by the way again— some of those who are raised will be rejected and condemned to a second death before the rest of us will be given the blessing of immortality, etc.”
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