¹³But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

Death assaults hope because of its seeming finality. Yet our hope is greater than the physical demise of our earthly bodies because our hope is in our risen Lord Jesus. This part of the gospel message needed reinforcement for the Thessalonian believers, not so much because of false teaching but because of their own concerns for believers who had died since Paul had been there. What happens to believers after they die? Will they miss out on Christ’s return?

Paul is set to expound on the initial stages of end-time prophecy, namely Christ’s return in what has been called the rapture. Apparently, he had already taught them about this, but as with most Christian theology, foundational teaching begets questions about the particulars. And no particulars can be more important than the issue at hand, the fate of deceased believers and their place in the eschaton (the end-time events).

The apostle’s goal is pastoral, to assure the believers about death and the return of Christ. First, it is clear from what follows that Paul had taught that Christ was returning. This permeated the gospel message from the beginning. The sense one gets is that the early Christians eagerly anticipated this would happen during their earthly lifetime. Second, in referring to deceased believers as “asleep” he adopts the same perspective as Jesus when the Savior spoke of Lazarus being dead and buried as having “fallen asleep” (John 11:11). Faith reframes how we think about life’s terminating event and how we speak of it. For Christians, to use the word death in an unqualified way speaks only of physical certainties (so-called), but it belies the spiritual reality. The certain truth for us who believe is that physical death is like sleep from which we will awake. It is not final. Our words betray our thinking. Death has no sting for believers (1 Cor. 15:55–56).

Therefore, we should not grieve for those believers among us who have died, who have fallen asleep in the Lord, for they will not miss out when Christ returns. Non-believers have nothing else to do with death than to grieve, and this despite some who feign bravado, warm feel-good sentiments, or wishful, misguided thinking. And they should grieve, for the dead unbeliever must face the Judge of all the earth in the Great White Throne judgment (Rev. 20:11). But not so for believers. This is because our hope is built on the assurance of our faith, which is founded on the person of Jesus Christ. The forthcoming teaching about Christ’s return lays out some of the details of His return.

Lord, I look forward to the spiritual sleep, after which I will awake to see You.