2 Thes. chapter THREE
2 Thes. 3:1, Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you,
"Finally" here indicates Paul was bringing the subject at hand to an end with a variety of concluding exhortations. First, he requested prayer for his situation. Remember, Paul wrote this letter while in Corinth, he and his evangelistic party were having problems there. But notice that Paul's chief concern was not for himself, he was not having a pity party where he was saying. "poor me, look what I am suffering for the sake of the gospel." No, no, his chief concern was that the Word of the Lord (the gospel) might have free course. He wanted to see it continue and spread rapidly. More than anything else he wanted to see the gospel triumph. One of the reasons Paul was able to accomplish what he did for Christ was because of the prayers of God's people. Therefore he often sought the prayers of those to whom he ministered, aware that God's will for his life and ministry would not be realized without the prayers and intercession of fellow believers (cf. Rom.15:30; 2 Cor. 1;11; Phil. 1:19; Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:25).
This spiritual principle is as valid today as it was for Paul in his day. The preacher or teacher needs the prayers of the believers he is ministering to. With faithful intercession by the hearers of the Word, the desires of God will be accomplished, Satan's purpose frustrated and the full power of the Holy Spirit manifested (Acts 4:24- 33). But if all you do when you hear something you don't agree with is talk about it behind the leaders back and tear down the person, Satan's work will forge ahead. When something is said that you don't agree with, approach the leader, and if he is a under shepherd of God he will listen and reason the Word with you. Both of you may have to agree to disagree over certain issues but love and pray for each other so that the work of God can continue. So don't eat the leader for diner, but pray fervently for him.
2 Thes. 3:2, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.
Paul continue by asking the believers to pray that they will be delivered (preserved or rescued) from unreasonable (perverse, twisted) and wicked (evil, malicious) men. His chief concern for asking for this kind of prayer was not mere self-preservation. He wanted more people to hear and believe the gospel.
What about the next phrase, "not all have faith?" Is this a contradiction of Rom. 12:3 which says, For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
This verse says that each one has a measure of faith, the other verse says that not all have faith. How can you explain that apparent contradiction? Who is Paul talking to in Rom. 12? The brethren. Are they born again believers? Yes. So who is it that God has dealt a measure of faith to? Each one who is born again. Is Paul referring to believers when he says that not all have faith? No. He is referring to wicked men. The unsaved do not have faith. Faith is a gift from God that a person receives the moment he is saved by grace, then our salvation is maintained by faith.
2 Thes. 3:3, But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. In spite of the dangers, the evil men, the adverse circumstances, the declaration rings loud, "the Lord is faithful."
Your friends may fail you, your denomination may fail you, your preacher may fail you, but the Lord will never fail you! When believers earnestly pray, and act on God's Word, they can be assured that a faithful God will protect them from the evil of Satan. God will strengthen us to face any circumstance that we may have to face and He will protect us from the attacks of the demonic.
Satan can only win in an attack against the believer by default, by the believer not standing against him in the authority of Christ, using his position in Christ to cause a defeated foe to get lost. If we fight the good fight of faith, not allow Satan to rob us of our faith, we will never be defeated by the devil. We will move from victory to victory because of the victor Christ Jesus.
2 Thes. 3:4, And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.
Paul had no doubts about the faith of the Thessalonian believers. He had full confidence in the Lord toward them. Their relationship to the Lord and the relationship that Paul had to them made him confident that they were doing and would continue to do what he had commanded (instructed, taught) them to do, which included the request to keep praying for him. But it also anticipates what he was about to command them to do.
2 Thes. 3:5, Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
The Amplified Bible says it this way; May the Lord direct your hearts into [realizing and showing] the love of God and into steadfastness and patience of Christ in waiting for His return.
Some people try to tell us that this epistle is not referring to the believer and the rapture. Paul says here to have the patience of Christ in the mists of persecution while waiting for his return. They were told to have Christlike fortitude and steadfastness, this direction would make their way clear by removing the obstacles which Satan had used to obscure their path. According to this verse the Rapture is directly related to the coming.
2 Thes. 3:6, But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.
It seems that Timothy's report had indicated that a number of the Thessalonians considered themselves too "spiritual" to dirty their hands with manual labor. Instead of working they were busybodies, disorderly, and meddling in peoples affairs. This cannot be tolerated in the life of Christians. With the utmost seriousness and severity Paul commanded the rest of the Christians in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ not to associate with any who deliberately lived without working. In the context, Paul is asserting that he is speaking on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. The very fact that they were Christians, meant the rest of the believers could not ignore the lazy way they were living. The name (person, nature, and character) of Jesus is dishonored by such dereliction of duty. Those who were walking disorderly were people who were loafing, idle, and unwilling to work. They were taking advantage of the generosity of the church (cf. 1 Thes. 4;9-10) and receiving support from brethren who made a living by ordinary occupations (vv.6-15). Paul advocates that the church is to help those in need, he no where teaches that the church should support able-bodied people who refuse to work steadily for a living if work is available (cf. v.10).
2 Thes. 3:7, For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you;
Paul could say this to them because he had set an example which the Thessalonians knew they ought to follow, even imitate. Paul could make this bold command because he was imitating Jesus. There was nothing lazy about Paul's way of life when he was among them. He never played truant when there was work to do. Neither did he sit around idly and let others do the work when he could help. Even when he was shipwrecked he was concerned about the needs of others and was the first one out to collect more wood for the fire (Acts 28:3).
2 Thes. 3:8, nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,
When Paul came to Thessalonica to preach the gospel, he did not accept any free meals. He paid room and board, not only for himself but for his entire evangelistic party. He did this by laboring with constant exertion and hardship day and night. His trade of tentmaking was not an easy one. The purpose of all this toil and struggle to earn a living was that they might not be a burden to any of the believers and so that the false teachers could not charge him of being in it for the money.
2 Thes. 3:9, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
By saying he did not want to be a burden to them, Paul did not mean that those involved in ministry should not be supported financially. He had the authority and the right to ask them to give him all the support he needed. But he waived that right for the sake of a greater spreading of the gospel in new areas. No doubt, there were believers who would have been glad to contribute to the support of Paul and his fellow laborers, as the believers in Philippi actually did (Phil. 4:15-16). But he knew the false teachers would use that against him and some believers some would use his example as a pretext for not working. He refused to give them that kind of excuse.
2 Thes. 3:10, For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
In addition to setting an example, Paul had repeatedly commanded the Thessalonians that if anyone was not willing to work, neither should he eat. This work ethic was suggested by the fact that Adam was given work to do in the Garden of Eden and by the judgment on Adam that, "In the sweat of your face will you eat bread" (Genesis 3:19). Rabbis in the NT times insisted that every young rabbi learn a trade, just as Paul had.
2 Thes. 3:11, For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
Again and again Paul had heard reports that there were those among the Thessalonian believers who were walking disorderly, that is, living in idleness, accepting no responsibility. Instead of being workers, the were meddlers. Instead of taking care of their own business, they were busybodies, poking their noses into everyone else's business.
2 Thes. 3:12, Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.
Jesus himself did not encourage idleness among His followers. His parables often called men to work in the harvest field. Paul therefore commanded and exhorted (challenged, encouraged) by the Lord Jesus Christ, that any who were idle or busybodies should go to work. Instead of going around imposing on the hospitality and good nature of other Christians, they were to work in quietness, that is with a quiet restful spirit and with an inner peace.
2 Thes. 3:13, But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.
Paul recognized that the majority of believers in Thesalonica were honest, hard working people. The danger was that those who were neglecting their responsibilities might cause the rest to grow weary or lose heart. But whatever others do, Christians must never grow tired of doing what is right, honorable, noble, excellent, and fair to everyone concerned.
2 Thes. 3:14, And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Now that Paul has finished with the teaching concerning idleness he turns his attention to the validity of the whole letter. He proceeds to give a strong warning to anyone who does not obey his teaching in this epistle. With regards to doctrines of denominations, every Christian needs to heed the admonition given here. Unfortunately today, some Bible scholars, pastors, and teachers (of various theological persuasions) are strongly inclined to base their eschatology largely on traditional interpretations of a denomination or of a particular theological school of thought, thereby closing their minds to any other view point whether it is Biblically correct or not. When they come to a text whose plain meaning does not fit those preconceived positions, they often Semiticize it (ie. consider it as Hebraism), spiritualize it, allegorize it, culturalize it, or rationalize it--and thereby fail to accurately understand what the passage really means. Unfortunately, holding to preconceived conclusions can have serious consequences. It was rabbinical presuppositions and traditions that kept most of the Jewish religious leaders from accepting Christ as the Messiah.
It was also the disciples' presuppositions to human ideas that prevented them from believing Jesus' predictions of his imminent arrest, affliction, death, and resurrection. It was because of his personal convictions based on traditional teaching about the Messiah that Peter contradicted his Lord face to face, only a few minutes after confessing Him as being the Messiah and Son of God (see Matt. 16:15- 23). No single book in the NT more clearly supports the position that the church will go through the great tribulation and be raptured out from within it before the day of the Lord begins, than Second Thessalonians, a book devoted almost entirely to the timing of Christ's return. Paul begins with the warning, "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord, when the Church is gathered together to Him) will not come unless..." (2 Thes. 2:3). With that warning in mind, Paul's statement here in v.14, is of extreme importance in regard to eschatology, which is the overall focus of this letter.
In other words, anyone who teaches doctrine contrary to that which Paul clearly presents in this letter is to not to be kept company with. The reason for the severity of that warning is that any other teaching will be undermined by Satan and will not prepare the believers for what is ahead. Also so that he may see his error and come to a place where they would respect the Word given in this epistle.
2 Thes. 3:15, Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
In withdrawing their fellowship, the believers must not withdraw their love. The disobedient person who persisted in believing the doctrines of men and/or denominations is still a brother or sister in Christ. The warnings must be given in the love of God that would cause the person to be ashamed of believing something else over what the Word says. Thus the call for withdrawal of close fellowship, not a complete shunning or avoidance of the person.
It is time to believe the doctrines of Word of God and not some denomination's doctrine based on a dogma of scripture.
2 Thes. 3:16-18, Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. The salutation of Paul with my own hand, which is a sign in every epistle; so I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Paul ends the epistle with a prayer that "the Lord of peace" would give them peace at all times and by all means; that is, in every way possible and in all places. He then says, "the Lord be with you all," including those who were still disobedient to the commands of this letter. Listen, if all we do is talk about the time of Christ return, we have failed. Along with our talking about the time of His return we need to LIVE in light of His return. He has given us a work to do, when He comes will He find us doing it. If you are walking the walk then you can talk the talk, but if you are not walking the walk it is better not to talk the talk.
Hopefully God has opened your understanding so you will have a firmer grip on the truth of these letters and apply that truth to your hearts and live your life in the light of these truths.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2
2 Thes. chapter TWO.
Remember that in 1 Thes. 4, The believers had a concern with regard to believers who had died in Christ before He had returned. Paul tells them that they need not be unduly concerned, they need not sorrow has others who have no hope, because at Jesus' coming (PAROUSIA) the dead in Christ will rise first then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. That is to be a source of great comfort to those who have lost loved ones through death.
Then He moves on in 1 Thes. 5, and tells them that concerning the times and seasons you have no need that I write to you. For you know that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. So what he is saying is, Not only is the Lord going to return, resurrect the dead and rapture the living, but these things will happen before the day of the Lord because we are not appointed unto the wrath of God. We will experience a time of difficulty, the difficulty of Satan through Antichrist, the difficulty that is associated with the fall of man, we are not exempted from that. So we will experience tribulation.
In 2 Thes. 2, Paul is going to deal with the concept of the day of the Lord again, because of a problem that had developed. After some commendations in the first chapter, he begins to deal with the problem.
2 Thes. 2:1,2, Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
Something had happened concerning the coming of Jesus that had caused them to be shaken in composure and disturbed. Paul tells them not to be troubled, either by spirit (prophetic utterance) or by word (verbal message) or by letter (a forged document) that says you are already living in the day of the Lord. Some of the Thessalonian Christians were departing from their senses like a ship blown from her moorings because they thought they were in the Day of the Lord.
Thus they were disturbed (frightened, agitated) and filled with feverish anxieties. Paul began by establishing again the connection of the coming (PAROUSIA) of Christ "with our gathering together to Him," and the day of the Lord (God's judgment).
When will we be gathered together unto Him? At the Rapture. He unequivocally tells them, as well as the church today, exactly what must occur before the PAROUSIA of Christ, the time of this gathering unto Him, as we will see in vv.3-9.
Why would they believe they were in the day of the Lord? Because they were severely persecuted for their faith. They were going through tribulation, they were pressured with problems. While those things were going on, some teachers told them they were already living in the day of the Lord, which they understood to be the outpouring of God's wrath. They could not therefore be encouraged by the prospect of a literal rapture of believers.
This is not what Paul taught them, but because of what they were suffering they concluded that it might be true. W. J. Erdman identifies the expression, "the day of the Lord", with the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him" and says,The Apostle beseeches the saints in behalf of this very coming (PAROUSIA) of the Lord to gather them together into His presence, not to be troubled or shaken from the teaching they had received from him; and he beseeches them concerning this coming and gathering together as something that has not taken place and cannot take place until the "man of sin" be revealed.
The church throughout the world will be contemporary with the "man of sin" and in the "great tribulation". The man of sin is the author of the great tribulation. The day of the Lord in which the Antichrist meets His doom comes after the great tribulation. The church is delivered at the opening of that day from the wrath which overtakes Antichrist. Therefore the church must have been a contemporary with him and in the great tribulation.
Those who would have the Church raptured at the beginning of the seventieth week in order to exempt them from the wrath of Antichrist say that, verse one is referring to one event and verse two is referring to another entirely different event. This not only desecrates the Greek language, it also desecrates the English language.
2 Thes. 2:3,4, Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Verse 3, Paul tells them not to be deceived by any means, even if it is by prophesy, or by verbalization, or by an epistle. All prophesies are not from God, if it does not line up with the Word of God it is not from God. No matter how logical the false teachers may seem due to the circumstances you find yourself in, they are still wrong. If God's Word says something, but your circumstances say something else, you say what the Word of God says not what your circumstances say. That is not to deny the circumstances, but don't allow them to dictate how you react. React the way the Word of God says to act.
"For that day", what day? The day of the Lord, the day when Jesus comes and gathers us together to Him, the day of the resurrection of our loved ones, the day we are taken out so the wrath of God can begin. In 1 Thessalonians the concern was over what would happen to their loved ones who had died before the return of Christ. In 2 Thessalonians the concern was the day of the Lord had already begun and Jesus had not come, nor had their loved ones been raised. They knew that according to Paul's teaching, before the day of the Lord began the raising of the dead in Christ and the rapture was to take place. Now because of their tribulation they were told they were experiencing the day of the Lord's wrath. Don't worry, Paul says, for that day will NOT come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.
Falling away is preceded by the definite article "the", and therefore refers to apostasy in a religious sense and not a political sense. This is made certain by the relation of Antichrist to it. This apostasy takes place during the seventieth week of Daniel. This is not referring to people leaving a denomination and going to another one, nor is it people leaving a denomination to become non-denominational or independent as I have heard some teach. Falling away is translated from the Greek word APOSTASIA (ap-os- tas-ee'-ah), it means defection from truth ["apostasy"], a total abandonment of what is true. Mr. Vine says it this way: "a defection, revolt, apostasy," is used in the NT of religious apostasy; in Acts 21:21, it is translated "to forsake," lit., "thou teachest apostasy from Moses." In 2 Thes. 2:3 "the falling away" signifies apostasy from the faith. This word occurs only in the above two places in the Bible. In Acts 21:21 there were those who were accusing Paul of telling Jews who had accepted Christ to apostatize, to totally abandon the Jewish law and custom for another religious system.
The falling away is a prelude to the day of the Lord, Paul tells them that they can't be living in the day of the Lord because this falling away has to take place first.
That day will not come until the "man of sin" is revealed (made known). Who is the man of sin? Antichrist. When will the man of sin be revealed as to his true identity? In the middle of the seventieth week. Jesus admonishes believers in the last days: "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)..."For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:15,21,22).
The Holy Spirit reveals through the prophet Daniel that "in the middle of the week"--that is, three and a half years after he has signed his deceptive covenant with Israel--Antichrist "will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate" (Dan. 9:27). At that time Satan (the dragon) who is cast down from heaven, will give the Antichrist (the beast) his power, his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev 13:2-4).
Paul is telling us here that two things must take place before the day of the Lord begins. The day of the Lord begins immediately after the Church is raptured which happens immediately after the dead in Christ are raised, which happens some time after the two events, the falling away, and the revealing of the man of sin.
If, as pretribulation rapturism maintains, the day of the Lord begins at the beginning of the seventieth week, then it must be concluded that these two events must occur before the rapture of the church, thus before the seventieth week begins. This is not scriptually sound (Dan. 9:27).
Let's divert for a minute and look at when the Antichrist will be revealed. Turn to Matt. 24:33, "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it (My return) is near--at the doors! What precedes this is the parable of the fig tree. When certain things happen to the fig tree you know that summer is getting near, now here is the spiritual application. So likewise when you shall see all of these things, my return is near. What did the Lord mean by the phrase "these things?" Was he referring back to verse 4 and following? And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. That is the white horse and rider of Revelation. But even today we have a lot of that going on. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." We have a lot of wars being fought right now, at any one time there are upwards to seventy five wars in progress world wide. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines (a lot of famines are taking place and have taken place over the years), pestilence's, and earthquakes in various places. "All these (now notice the phrase that follows) are the beginning of sorrows. Now drop down to verses 15-21, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),"then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Now go to verse 33, so likewise when you see all of these things, does all of these things refer to the false Christs, the wars, the famines, the pestilence's and the rest of what we just looked at? Or does, when you see all of these things, refer to what would properly be the nearest antecedent to all of these things. Meaning what immediately preceded the statement which was a discussion of the great tribulation which begins in the middle of the seventieth week.
So He says, when you see certain things happen to the fig tree you know that summer is getting near, now when you see all of these things, is He talking about false Christs, wars, famines, pestilence, cosmic disturbances or is he referring to verses 15-31, where the abomination of desolation is set up beginning the great tribulation.
The question is, will the church recognize who the Antichrist is at the beginning of the seventieth week or in the middle of the seventieth week? The argument that is usually made for the beginning of the seventieth week, is that he is going to make a covenant with Israel for seven years and this covenant signing will be conspicuous. The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will be revealed for who he is when he sets himself up as God in the temple demanding worship in the middle of the seventieth week.
The Hebrew text of Daniel 9, does not say that he is going to make a covenant, it says that he is going to confirm a covenant. There is a big difference between making and confirming. Other translations say that he will strengthen a covenant. The idea seems to be that he will confirm a covenant already in existence. So it may be no big deal as to the strengthening of this covenant.
I don't know if the Church will recognize the Antichrist at the beginning of the seventieth week or not, but she will definitely know who he is at the midpoint of the seventieth week when he breaks the covenant and puts an image of himself in the rebuilt temple.
It seems to me, that is what Paul is teaching. You can't be in the day of the Lord because two things have to precede it, the apostasy, and Antichrist is revealed. If we will know who the Antichrist is at the beginning, all the better, if we don't we will definitely know who he is at the midpoint of the seventieth week.
Verse 4, The word opposeth means against, and exalteth means in place of. So whenever an antichrist is referred to, the dominant idea is opposition to and substitution of God.
Paul makes it abundantly clear that in the middle of the week the man of sin will be revealed. After stating that the man of sin must be revealed, he does not relate that revelation to the time of the signing of the covenant, but on the occasion of the setting up of the Antichrist's image. This event (the setting of himself up in the temple) which occurs in the middle of the seventieth week, cannot be divorced from the time the Antichrist is revealed. Paul was not talking about the time when Antichrist appears on the scene; clearly that was three and one half years earlier, when the covenant was confirmed. That is not the issue. Paul was speaking of the time when the Antichrist will be recognized for who he truly is. That recognition will occur in the middle of the seventieth week when he sets himself up as God in the temple (Dan. 9:27; cf, Matt. 24:15). These verses are the reasons why it is said that a temple is to be built prior to the middle of the seventieth week.
It seems that a tribulation temple is to be built, but we have to be careful here. We are told by Daniel that the sacrifice will be brought to an end in the middle of the seventieth week. To say that the sacrifice is going to cease, what does that presuppose? It presupposes that it has been reinstated. If the Antichrist is going to stop it when he sets himself up in the temple, then it must be in place before then.
It seems clear that the Jews reinstate their animal sacrifices. Did you know that there is a small group in Israel today, who have already built, after meticulous research, more the fifty of the implements used by the priests of the temple. They are training young Israelis to be priests if they qualify and one of the qualifications is that they must trace their genealogy back five generations to ensure that they come from such names as Levie, Levin or Cohin, because these are the descendants of the Livitical priest line of the Old Testament. So there is an active movement to reestablish the Livitical sacrificial system.
But now listen carefully, whenever it speaks about that temple it does not use the word that is sometimes used to describe the massive temple that existed in the days of Solomon. It does not describe the temple that existed in the time when Christ walked the earth, the Herodian temple. The word that is used is the word that could refer to the temple proper, not all the surrounding facilities that made the temple massive. So when it speaks about a temple in the tribulation, that could be a very small affair, which could be erected in a matter of days not years. So you do not have to think of an elaborate temple that would take many years to build. The kind of thing that the bible requires that could be put up very quickly that would allow the reinstatement of animal sacrifices.
2 Thes. 2:5, Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Paul had explained these things in his teaching at Thessalonica. The question is then, why are you confused now, thinking that you are in the day of the Lord, when I kept telling you when I was with you that the apostasy and the revealing of the man of sin had to precede the coming of the day of the Lord?
There seems to be a slight accent of surprise with a tone of reproach in Paul's question, that they should make so much of this false teaching of them being in the day of the Lord. He was telling them nothing new, The indication is that he had repeatedly talked to them of the advent and the things about which he was now writing.
2 Thes. 2:6, And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
This verse tells us that something or someone is restraining the Antichrist until it is time for him to be revealed. A restrainer is brought forth because the Antichrist, in the middle of the seventieth week is going to be revealed. He could not be revealed before that because of the restrainer.
To those who say that the restrainer is going to be gone from the earth at the rapture of the church prior to the seventieth week, I say to you, you have no scriptural foundation for that belief. When the restrainer is no longer restraining, the Antichrist will be revealed. He is not revealed until the middle of the seventieth week, therefore the restrainer is doing his work until that time.
2 Thes. 2:7, For the mystery (that is the concealed principle) of lawlessness (that is a deliberate, sinful, rebellion and disobedience to God) is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
The age old question here is, who is he who restrains and will do so until he is taken out of the way. During the first half of the seventieth week there is someone in the way of Antichrist that hinders his activity with regards to Israel and the Church. Who is this restrainer that is in the way of Antichrist, hindering him until he is taken out of the way in the middle of the seventieth week?
One of the views as to who he his is human government by the laws that it initiates. The ones that hold to this view say that human government is putting a restraint on sin. This was the predominate view up to the twentieth century. But governments are one of the agents that Satan uses to come against the Church and to promote sin. The government stopped prayers in schools, it promoted the teaching of evolution, it implemented the passing out of condoms in schools, it is passing laws that prohibit a preacher from saying anything against homosexuals or face a jail term, it is an advocate of murder in passing laws to support abortion. The only way a human government will restrain sin is if godly men were the ones in office applying biblical principles.
Pretribulational rapturism which had its start in England in about 1830 was unheard of before that time. It came to America beginning in the 1880's, it was popularized by the second edition of the C.I. Scofield Bible which came out, I believe in 1917. These notes of Schofield in his study bible were viewed as authoritative as the text itself by many people, there was nothing in his first edition on the subject, it was his second edition which prompted the pretrib view. Many of the bible colleges bought into this view and taught it strongly.
But I submit to you on the authority of God's word that Satan is the father of lies. I believe, within a solid core of bible believers in the western world, Satan has got a lie in that has been propounded, and has become a part of a doctrinal position of so many institutions that people are convinced that it is true. They say that that the bible is their final authority but, when conversing with them it is evident that traditions of men are put above what the bible says because they have no scriptural support for their belief. When you are taught that you are out of here before the bad days are going to hit and someone comes along and biblical shows them that they will be around for the great tribulation, you will encounter the Antichrist, you are going to be here to have an occasion to stand true for your Lord in the midst of a false christ saying no he is not the Christ, he is not my Savior, he is not the one who died for me, they get very upset and accuse you of being a false teacher destined for hell.
Pretribulation rapturism agrees that the restraining power that will be taken out of the way is the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit indwells believers, his restraining power is operative through the presence of believers. At the rapture, the church is removed from the earth, and with it, the Holy Spirit of God.
According to pretribulationism, four facts are considered to be clear:
(1) the Holy Spirit is the one who hinders the Antichrist;
(2) the Holy Spirit is removed before the day of the Lord begins;
(3) the day of the Lord begins with the tribulation period;
(4) when the church is removed the Holy Spirit is removed.
Therefore, it is argued the rapture is pretribulational.
Dwight Pentecost spoke of the restrainer in his book "Things to Come" this way: "Explanations as to the person of this Restrainer such as human government, law, the visible church will not suffice, for they will all continue in a measure after the manifestation of this lawless one. While this is essentially an exegetical problem, it would seem that the only One who could do such a restraining ministry would be the Holy Spirit."
In answer to this argument raised by pretribulationists consider the following points.
First, the day of the Lord does not begin with the seventieth week of Daniel. Its approach is said to be announced by cosmic disturbances (the sixth seal, Rev. 6:12-13), and it begins with the opening of the seventh seal.
Second, the hinder is not removed at the beginning of the seventieth week or as the pretribbers would say, before the tribulation begins. He is removed in the middle of the seventieth week with the occurrence of the abomination that makes the temple desolate. Paul makes that plainly clear when writing of the Antichrist in 2 Thes. 2:4- 5. It is in connection with that event which occurs in the middle of the seventieth week, not at its beginning, that Paul teaches concerning the one who hinders (2 Thes. 2:6-9). The hindering is associated with the great tribulation, not with the entire seven-year period.
Third, the identification of the one who restrains until he is taken out of the way is important. The restrainer is not human government or the Holy Spirit. This text does not say that the restrainer is raptured or caught up as the believers will be. It simply says that he is taken out of the way, people have to add a lot to this verse to make it say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit.
The pretribbers say that there is going to be a great in gathering of souls during the tribulation, if that is so the Holy Spirit must be here because the Word says, "No man can come to the father except the Spirit draws him." There is not one shred of evidence to indicate that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer.
If the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, don't be guilty of saying that the He will be raptured with the Church before the tribulation begins. If you believe it is the Holy Spirit, when He is taken out of the way he will not be taken out of the world, but that only His restraining influence against Antichrist will cease. The Holy Spirit will still remain on earth during the satanic inspired rebellion to convict people of their sins (Rev.7:9,14; 11:1; 14:6-7).
There is also evidence to support that the archangel Michael may be the restrainer. Consider the following in support of that statement:
1. The archangel Michael has long been recognized by both Jewish and Christian scholars as having a special guardian relationship to Israel: Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty- one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia" (Dan. 10:12-13). Now look at verse 21, "But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince. You know what upholds means here? Restraint. No one restrains with me against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, so I could get the answer to your prayer to you, but Michael your prince, your protector. Daniel is told that Michael is "the great prince who standeth [present continuous tense; that is' he continues to stand] for the children of thy people (Dan. 12:1).
2. Rev. 12 describes a war that occurs in heaven. The time for that conflict can be pinpointed precisely in the middle of the seventieth week (Rev. 12:6, 13-14). It is described this way: And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (Rev. 12:7-8, 13). The woman represents Israel, who gave Christ (the male child) to the world (Rev. 12:5) and who will be severely persecuted during the great tribulation (Rev. 12:13-17).
3. Speaking of the one who hinders the Antichrist here in verse 7 Paul said, "only he who now restrains will continue to restrain until he be taken out of the way". The word "restrains" means to hold down, and the phrase taken out of the way means to step aside. Therefore, the one who had the job of restraining the Antichrist will step aside; that is he will no longer be a restraint between the Antichrist and those the Antichrist is persecuting.
4. The Bible is explicit that the archangel Michael is the personage who will step aside. Daniel records the event this way: "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time..." (Dan 12:1). When does Michael stand up? Daniel says that Michael will stand up during a time of trouble, such as there never was since there was a nation. That unprecedented time of trouble can only refer to the great tribulation. Since Daniel is told that this period of time is related to his people, this can only be the "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer, 30:7), which is a synonym for the great tribulation. It is at that time that Michael will stand up.
The Hebrew word for "stand up" is AMAD, what does it mean? Rashi, one of Israel's greatest scholars and who had no concern regarding the issue of the rapture said that it means to stand still. The meaning is to stand aside or be inactive. Michael the guardian of Israel, had earlier fought for her (Dan. 10:13,21), but now the one who standeth as the protector of Israel will stand aside or stand still. He will not help, he will not restrain, he will not hold down. The Midrash commenting on this verse, according to Ruth Rabbah 1 says, "The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, "You are silent? You do not defend my children." Other biblical instances of stand up (AMAD) meaning to be still or desist are "they... stood still [desisted], and answered no more" (Job 32:16); and again, "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people); and when he had opened it, all the people stood up" (Neh. 8:5). Commenting on this verse, Rashi indicates that the people kept quiet (stood still) while Ezra read the Torah.
5. That special guardian relationship which Michael has with Israel is again underscored in a sometimes obscure comment made by Jude. "Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses" (Jude 9). Further, Moses is thought to be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Concerning these two witnesses, God said, "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days [three and a half years, based on the Jewish calendar], clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11:3). In that light, Michael's conflict with Satan over the body of Moses, as guardian of Israel, once again impacts the precise time of the great tribulation and the occasion where the restrainer will step aside.
2 Thes. 2:8, And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Then, after the restrainer is taken out of the way, will the lawless one be revealed made manifest. The restrainer will step aside, he will desist from lending a helping hand as Daniel recorded he would do, and that is what Paul confirmed in v.7. When that occurs, then we will have the fulfillment of v.8.
At His coming (PAROUSIA) the Antichrist's activities will be brought to a halt he will be rendered helpless because at His coming the day of the Lord commences. It is no longer the wrath of Satan through Antichrist against the Church and Israel, it is now the wrath of God on all that is ungodly. The Antichrist does not reign during the day of the Lord, he will not be looked upon as the one to be worshipped, the Lord and the Lord alone will be exalted in His day.
Ultimately Christ will destroy Antichrist at the final battle of Armageddon (the last event of the day of the Lord), but first, by the appearance of His coming (PAROUSIA), Christ will render him helpless, as the first event of the day of the Lord. Christ will in effect "handcuff" Antichrist and his forces and as Rotherham's Bible says, paralyze him. This restriction of Antichrist's power will happen "at the appearance of His coming"--in other words, when every eye will see Him", when the church is gathered to Christ in the clouds and the wrath of God begins. This interpretation gives greater understanding to Jesus' statement that "unless those days were cut short, no flesh (believing) would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short (Mat. 24:22). "Those days" is frequently referred to as the second half of the seventieth week. But the context makes it clear that Jesus was talking specifically about the great tribulation by Antichrist (v.21), not about his allotted time of authority upon the earth (Rev. 13:5).
If God were to cut short the last three and a half years, the seventieth week would no longer be a "week," since the last half would be less than three and a half years. Thus, it is the persecution of the great tribulation that will be cut short when Christ renders Antichrist (the perpetrator of the tribulation) helpless or paralyzed.
One pre-trib proponent (Jack Van Impe) stated that the cutting short means that God will cut short a twenty -four hour day to something less than twenty-four hours. If that were the case, no matter how you look at it, the seventieth week would not be seven years long which is in contradiction to what the scriptures say. Who are you going to believe man or God?
2 Thes. 2:9, The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
The coming of the Antichrist is in conformity with Satan who will be working in and through him. You must understand the phrase "with all power" does not mean that Satan or the Antichrist is omnipotent. Omnipotence is an attribute of God, therefore, one which Satan does not possess. This is not authentic power or genuine signs and wonders. These are power, signs, and wonders of falsehood because "lying" applies to all three.
They are miracles of falsehood because people who regard them as signs of proofs of the divinity of Antichrist are deceived. This is why he performs great miracles, so as to deceive people into believing that he is the Christ and he will deceive many. This will not be merely slight of the hand magicians tricks, they will be performed by dark, gloomy powers, manifestations of the demonic, monstrosities without any saving power. But they will get the attention of he world.
2 Thes. 2:10, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. These miraculous signs and wonders will convince those who perish (the ones who don't believe) that Antichrist is the messiah. Satan's false signs will also deceive those who did not welcome the love of the truth that they might be saved. That is they did not become disciples of Christ but continued to follow their own ways, and man made traditions.
"Saved" here does not refer to conversion, but to the salvation and inheritance which will be believers' when they are changed into Christ's likeness. From the very beginning of creation the central issue in man's relationship with God has been either his disregard of the Word and truth of God or his love for them. This is also a pivotal issue in the end times. Salvation will be realized by those who by faith in Christ maintain a fervent and sincere "love and truth," who believe with unwavering conviction what God has said, and who reject all new "revelation" or teaching that conflicts with the truth of God's word.
Professing believers will accept "new revelation" even though it conflicts with the revealed Word of God. This will lead to opposition to Biblical truth within churches. Already there are preachers who have preached a distorted gospel and have gained strategic leadership positions in denominations and theological training centers, enabling to deceive and mislead many within the church.
Protection against being deceived is found in an enduring faith and love for Christ, and a commitment to the absolute authority of His Word and a thorough knowledge of and obedience to His Word.
2 Thes. 2:11,12, And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Because of their moral rejection of the truth God will send them (the unbelieving) strong delusion, that they should believe the lie. A power is set in operation within them that makes them prone to embrace error. This will lead them the lie, not any lie that happens to come along, but the big lie, the false claims and pretensions of the Antichrist including the deity of man. The result will be that all who have not welcomed the love of the truth will "be damned" (judged, called to account, and condemned.
God's purpose in sending the "strong delusion" is so they will be damned because they did not accept the truth. These people approved, considered good, took delight in, and sought satisfaction in wrong doing, injustice wickedness and evil. In other words they kept going along with sin, considered it normal and promoted it as desirable. This delusion has already begun to some degree within the body of Christ, leading many to believe that those who practice the works of the flesh can still be acceptable to God.
2 Thes. 2:13-14, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here as Paul typically does, he goes into a prayer of thanks to God for the brethren who are loved by the Lord. These people are saved and sanctified by the Spirit and their belief in and obedience to the truth. The end purpose of the gospel is that they may obtain the glory of Jesus Christ at His coming.
2 Thes. 2:15, Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
In view of the glory to come, Paul challenged them and us to stand fast and keep holding on to the traditions (teachings) taught them by the Word (in his preaching) and in his epistles. The traditions here are not man made traditions, or denominational traditions, or even constitutional traditions, no, they are the traditions handed down to Paul by Jesus. Paul was emphasizing that his teaching was not a product of his own mind, he was simply passing on the message that was handed down to him by the Lord. Paul was not free to change the message or mix in any of his own ideas or assumptions. Let me add, neither are people free to do so today.
2 Thes. 2:16-17, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
To his exhortation to stand firm, Paul added a prayer. In the final analysis, Christians cannot stand in their own strength or hold to the scriptures through their own understanding. Believers need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself to help them. As Christians stand firm, holding on to the teachings of God's Word, they can expect God and Christ to comfort (encourage) their hearts and to strengthen and confirm or firmly fix them, not merely in their minds, but in every good word and work.
Remember that in 1 Thes. 4, The believers had a concern with regard to believers who had died in Christ before He had returned. Paul tells them that they need not be unduly concerned, they need not sorrow has others who have no hope, because at Jesus' coming (PAROUSIA) the dead in Christ will rise first then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord. That is to be a source of great comfort to those who have lost loved ones through death.
Then He moves on in 1 Thes. 5, and tells them that concerning the times and seasons you have no need that I write to you. For you know that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. So what he is saying is, Not only is the Lord going to return, resurrect the dead and rapture the living, but these things will happen before the day of the Lord because we are not appointed unto the wrath of God. We will experience a time of difficulty, the difficulty of Satan through Antichrist, the difficulty that is associated with the fall of man, we are not exempted from that. So we will experience tribulation.
In 2 Thes. 2, Paul is going to deal with the concept of the day of the Lord again, because of a problem that had developed. After some commendations in the first chapter, he begins to deal with the problem.
2 Thes. 2:1,2, Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
Something had happened concerning the coming of Jesus that had caused them to be shaken in composure and disturbed. Paul tells them not to be troubled, either by spirit (prophetic utterance) or by word (verbal message) or by letter (a forged document) that says you are already living in the day of the Lord. Some of the Thessalonian Christians were departing from their senses like a ship blown from her moorings because they thought they were in the Day of the Lord.
Thus they were disturbed (frightened, agitated) and filled with feverish anxieties. Paul began by establishing again the connection of the coming (PAROUSIA) of Christ "with our gathering together to Him," and the day of the Lord (God's judgment).
When will we be gathered together unto Him? At the Rapture. He unequivocally tells them, as well as the church today, exactly what must occur before the PAROUSIA of Christ, the time of this gathering unto Him, as we will see in vv.3-9.
Why would they believe they were in the day of the Lord? Because they were severely persecuted for their faith. They were going through tribulation, they were pressured with problems. While those things were going on, some teachers told them they were already living in the day of the Lord, which they understood to be the outpouring of God's wrath. They could not therefore be encouraged by the prospect of a literal rapture of believers.
This is not what Paul taught them, but because of what they were suffering they concluded that it might be true. W. J. Erdman identifies the expression, "the day of the Lord", with the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him" and says,The Apostle beseeches the saints in behalf of this very coming (PAROUSIA) of the Lord to gather them together into His presence, not to be troubled or shaken from the teaching they had received from him; and he beseeches them concerning this coming and gathering together as something that has not taken place and cannot take place until the "man of sin" be revealed.
The church throughout the world will be contemporary with the "man of sin" and in the "great tribulation". The man of sin is the author of the great tribulation. The day of the Lord in which the Antichrist meets His doom comes after the great tribulation. The church is delivered at the opening of that day from the wrath which overtakes Antichrist. Therefore the church must have been a contemporary with him and in the great tribulation.
Those who would have the Church raptured at the beginning of the seventieth week in order to exempt them from the wrath of Antichrist say that, verse one is referring to one event and verse two is referring to another entirely different event. This not only desecrates the Greek language, it also desecrates the English language.
2 Thes. 2:3,4, Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Verse 3, Paul tells them not to be deceived by any means, even if it is by prophesy, or by verbalization, or by an epistle. All prophesies are not from God, if it does not line up with the Word of God it is not from God. No matter how logical the false teachers may seem due to the circumstances you find yourself in, they are still wrong. If God's Word says something, but your circumstances say something else, you say what the Word of God says not what your circumstances say. That is not to deny the circumstances, but don't allow them to dictate how you react. React the way the Word of God says to act.
"For that day", what day? The day of the Lord, the day when Jesus comes and gathers us together to Him, the day of the resurrection of our loved ones, the day we are taken out so the wrath of God can begin. In 1 Thessalonians the concern was over what would happen to their loved ones who had died before the return of Christ. In 2 Thessalonians the concern was the day of the Lord had already begun and Jesus had not come, nor had their loved ones been raised. They knew that according to Paul's teaching, before the day of the Lord began the raising of the dead in Christ and the rapture was to take place. Now because of their tribulation they were told they were experiencing the day of the Lord's wrath. Don't worry, Paul says, for that day will NOT come unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.
Falling away is preceded by the definite article "the", and therefore refers to apostasy in a religious sense and not a political sense. This is made certain by the relation of Antichrist to it. This apostasy takes place during the seventieth week of Daniel. This is not referring to people leaving a denomination and going to another one, nor is it people leaving a denomination to become non-denominational or independent as I have heard some teach. Falling away is translated from the Greek word APOSTASIA (ap-os- tas-ee'-ah), it means defection from truth ["apostasy"], a total abandonment of what is true. Mr. Vine says it this way: "a defection, revolt, apostasy," is used in the NT of religious apostasy; in Acts 21:21, it is translated "to forsake," lit., "thou teachest apostasy from Moses." In 2 Thes. 2:3 "the falling away" signifies apostasy from the faith. This word occurs only in the above two places in the Bible. In Acts 21:21 there were those who were accusing Paul of telling Jews who had accepted Christ to apostatize, to totally abandon the Jewish law and custom for another religious system.
The falling away is a prelude to the day of the Lord, Paul tells them that they can't be living in the day of the Lord because this falling away has to take place first.
That day will not come until the "man of sin" is revealed (made known). Who is the man of sin? Antichrist. When will the man of sin be revealed as to his true identity? In the middle of the seventieth week. Jesus admonishes believers in the last days: "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand)..."For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened (Matt. 24:15,21,22).
The Holy Spirit reveals through the prophet Daniel that "in the middle of the week"--that is, three and a half years after he has signed his deceptive covenant with Israel--Antichrist "will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate" (Dan. 9:27). At that time Satan (the dragon) who is cast down from heaven, will give the Antichrist (the beast) his power, his throne and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Rev 13:2-4).
Paul is telling us here that two things must take place before the day of the Lord begins. The day of the Lord begins immediately after the Church is raptured which happens immediately after the dead in Christ are raised, which happens some time after the two events, the falling away, and the revealing of the man of sin.
If, as pretribulation rapturism maintains, the day of the Lord begins at the beginning of the seventieth week, then it must be concluded that these two events must occur before the rapture of the church, thus before the seventieth week begins. This is not scriptually sound (Dan. 9:27).
Let's divert for a minute and look at when the Antichrist will be revealed. Turn to Matt. 24:33, "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it (My return) is near--at the doors! What precedes this is the parable of the fig tree. When certain things happen to the fig tree you know that summer is getting near, now here is the spiritual application. So likewise when you shall see all of these things, my return is near. What did the Lord mean by the phrase "these things?" Was he referring back to verse 4 and following? And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. That is the white horse and rider of Revelation. But even today we have a lot of that going on. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." We have a lot of wars being fought right now, at any one time there are upwards to seventy five wars in progress world wide. "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines (a lot of famines are taking place and have taken place over the years), pestilence's, and earthquakes in various places. "All these (now notice the phrase that follows) are the beginning of sorrows. Now drop down to verses 15-21, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),"then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. "Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Now go to verse 33, so likewise when you see all of these things, does all of these things refer to the false Christs, the wars, the famines, the pestilence's and the rest of what we just looked at? Or does, when you see all of these things, refer to what would properly be the nearest antecedent to all of these things. Meaning what immediately preceded the statement which was a discussion of the great tribulation which begins in the middle of the seventieth week.
So He says, when you see certain things happen to the fig tree you know that summer is getting near, now when you see all of these things, is He talking about false Christs, wars, famines, pestilence, cosmic disturbances or is he referring to verses 15-31, where the abomination of desolation is set up beginning the great tribulation.
The question is, will the church recognize who the Antichrist is at the beginning of the seventieth week or in the middle of the seventieth week? The argument that is usually made for the beginning of the seventieth week, is that he is going to make a covenant with Israel for seven years and this covenant signing will be conspicuous. The Bible tells us that the Antichrist will be revealed for who he is when he sets himself up as God in the temple demanding worship in the middle of the seventieth week.
The Hebrew text of Daniel 9, does not say that he is going to make a covenant, it says that he is going to confirm a covenant. There is a big difference between making and confirming. Other translations say that he will strengthen a covenant. The idea seems to be that he will confirm a covenant already in existence. So it may be no big deal as to the strengthening of this covenant.
I don't know if the Church will recognize the Antichrist at the beginning of the seventieth week or not, but she will definitely know who he is at the midpoint of the seventieth week when he breaks the covenant and puts an image of himself in the rebuilt temple.
It seems to me, that is what Paul is teaching. You can't be in the day of the Lord because two things have to precede it, the apostasy, and Antichrist is revealed. If we will know who the Antichrist is at the beginning, all the better, if we don't we will definitely know who he is at the midpoint of the seventieth week.
Verse 4, The word opposeth means against, and exalteth means in place of. So whenever an antichrist is referred to, the dominant idea is opposition to and substitution of God.
Paul makes it abundantly clear that in the middle of the week the man of sin will be revealed. After stating that the man of sin must be revealed, he does not relate that revelation to the time of the signing of the covenant, but on the occasion of the setting up of the Antichrist's image. This event (the setting of himself up in the temple) which occurs in the middle of the seventieth week, cannot be divorced from the time the Antichrist is revealed. Paul was not talking about the time when Antichrist appears on the scene; clearly that was three and one half years earlier, when the covenant was confirmed. That is not the issue. Paul was speaking of the time when the Antichrist will be recognized for who he truly is. That recognition will occur in the middle of the seventieth week when he sets himself up as God in the temple (Dan. 9:27; cf, Matt. 24:15). These verses are the reasons why it is said that a temple is to be built prior to the middle of the seventieth week.
It seems that a tribulation temple is to be built, but we have to be careful here. We are told by Daniel that the sacrifice will be brought to an end in the middle of the seventieth week. To say that the sacrifice is going to cease, what does that presuppose? It presupposes that it has been reinstated. If the Antichrist is going to stop it when he sets himself up in the temple, then it must be in place before then.
It seems clear that the Jews reinstate their animal sacrifices. Did you know that there is a small group in Israel today, who have already built, after meticulous research, more the fifty of the implements used by the priests of the temple. They are training young Israelis to be priests if they qualify and one of the qualifications is that they must trace their genealogy back five generations to ensure that they come from such names as Levie, Levin or Cohin, because these are the descendants of the Livitical priest line of the Old Testament. So there is an active movement to reestablish the Livitical sacrificial system.
But now listen carefully, whenever it speaks about that temple it does not use the word that is sometimes used to describe the massive temple that existed in the days of Solomon. It does not describe the temple that existed in the time when Christ walked the earth, the Herodian temple. The word that is used is the word that could refer to the temple proper, not all the surrounding facilities that made the temple massive. So when it speaks about a temple in the tribulation, that could be a very small affair, which could be erected in a matter of days not years. So you do not have to think of an elaborate temple that would take many years to build. The kind of thing that the bible requires that could be put up very quickly that would allow the reinstatement of animal sacrifices.
2 Thes. 2:5, Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Paul had explained these things in his teaching at Thessalonica. The question is then, why are you confused now, thinking that you are in the day of the Lord, when I kept telling you when I was with you that the apostasy and the revealing of the man of sin had to precede the coming of the day of the Lord?
There seems to be a slight accent of surprise with a tone of reproach in Paul's question, that they should make so much of this false teaching of them being in the day of the Lord. He was telling them nothing new, The indication is that he had repeatedly talked to them of the advent and the things about which he was now writing.
2 Thes. 2:6, And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
This verse tells us that something or someone is restraining the Antichrist until it is time for him to be revealed. A restrainer is brought forth because the Antichrist, in the middle of the seventieth week is going to be revealed. He could not be revealed before that because of the restrainer.
To those who say that the restrainer is going to be gone from the earth at the rapture of the church prior to the seventieth week, I say to you, you have no scriptural foundation for that belief. When the restrainer is no longer restraining, the Antichrist will be revealed. He is not revealed until the middle of the seventieth week, therefore the restrainer is doing his work until that time.
2 Thes. 2:7, For the mystery (that is the concealed principle) of lawlessness (that is a deliberate, sinful, rebellion and disobedience to God) is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.
The age old question here is, who is he who restrains and will do so until he is taken out of the way. During the first half of the seventieth week there is someone in the way of Antichrist that hinders his activity with regards to Israel and the Church. Who is this restrainer that is in the way of Antichrist, hindering him until he is taken out of the way in the middle of the seventieth week?
One of the views as to who he his is human government by the laws that it initiates. The ones that hold to this view say that human government is putting a restraint on sin. This was the predominate view up to the twentieth century. But governments are one of the agents that Satan uses to come against the Church and to promote sin. The government stopped prayers in schools, it promoted the teaching of evolution, it implemented the passing out of condoms in schools, it is passing laws that prohibit a preacher from saying anything against homosexuals or face a jail term, it is an advocate of murder in passing laws to support abortion. The only way a human government will restrain sin is if godly men were the ones in office applying biblical principles.
Pretribulational rapturism which had its start in England in about 1830 was unheard of before that time. It came to America beginning in the 1880's, it was popularized by the second edition of the C.I. Scofield Bible which came out, I believe in 1917. These notes of Schofield in his study bible were viewed as authoritative as the text itself by many people, there was nothing in his first edition on the subject, it was his second edition which prompted the pretrib view. Many of the bible colleges bought into this view and taught it strongly.
But I submit to you on the authority of God's word that Satan is the father of lies. I believe, within a solid core of bible believers in the western world, Satan has got a lie in that has been propounded, and has become a part of a doctrinal position of so many institutions that people are convinced that it is true. They say that that the bible is their final authority but, when conversing with them it is evident that traditions of men are put above what the bible says because they have no scriptural support for their belief. When you are taught that you are out of here before the bad days are going to hit and someone comes along and biblical shows them that they will be around for the great tribulation, you will encounter the Antichrist, you are going to be here to have an occasion to stand true for your Lord in the midst of a false christ saying no he is not the Christ, he is not my Savior, he is not the one who died for me, they get very upset and accuse you of being a false teacher destined for hell.
Pretribulation rapturism agrees that the restraining power that will be taken out of the way is the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit indwells believers, his restraining power is operative through the presence of believers. At the rapture, the church is removed from the earth, and with it, the Holy Spirit of God.
According to pretribulationism, four facts are considered to be clear:
(1) the Holy Spirit is the one who hinders the Antichrist;
(2) the Holy Spirit is removed before the day of the Lord begins;
(3) the day of the Lord begins with the tribulation period;
(4) when the church is removed the Holy Spirit is removed.
Therefore, it is argued the rapture is pretribulational.
Dwight Pentecost spoke of the restrainer in his book "Things to Come" this way: "Explanations as to the person of this Restrainer such as human government, law, the visible church will not suffice, for they will all continue in a measure after the manifestation of this lawless one. While this is essentially an exegetical problem, it would seem that the only One who could do such a restraining ministry would be the Holy Spirit."
In answer to this argument raised by pretribulationists consider the following points.
First, the day of the Lord does not begin with the seventieth week of Daniel. Its approach is said to be announced by cosmic disturbances (the sixth seal, Rev. 6:12-13), and it begins with the opening of the seventh seal.
Second, the hinder is not removed at the beginning of the seventieth week or as the pretribbers would say, before the tribulation begins. He is removed in the middle of the seventieth week with the occurrence of the abomination that makes the temple desolate. Paul makes that plainly clear when writing of the Antichrist in 2 Thes. 2:4- 5. It is in connection with that event which occurs in the middle of the seventieth week, not at its beginning, that Paul teaches concerning the one who hinders (2 Thes. 2:6-9). The hindering is associated with the great tribulation, not with the entire seven-year period.
Third, the identification of the one who restrains until he is taken out of the way is important. The restrainer is not human government or the Holy Spirit. This text does not say that the restrainer is raptured or caught up as the believers will be. It simply says that he is taken out of the way, people have to add a lot to this verse to make it say that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit.
The pretribbers say that there is going to be a great in gathering of souls during the tribulation, if that is so the Holy Spirit must be here because the Word says, "No man can come to the father except the Spirit draws him." There is not one shred of evidence to indicate that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer.
If the restrainer is the Holy Spirit, don't be guilty of saying that the He will be raptured with the Church before the tribulation begins. If you believe it is the Holy Spirit, when He is taken out of the way he will not be taken out of the world, but that only His restraining influence against Antichrist will cease. The Holy Spirit will still remain on earth during the satanic inspired rebellion to convict people of their sins (Rev.7:9,14; 11:1; 14:6-7).
There is also evidence to support that the archangel Michael may be the restrainer. Consider the following in support of that statement:
1. The archangel Michael has long been recognized by both Jewish and Christian scholars as having a special guardian relationship to Israel: Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty- one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia" (Dan. 10:12-13). Now look at verse 21, "But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince. You know what upholds means here? Restraint. No one restrains with me against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, so I could get the answer to your prayer to you, but Michael your prince, your protector. Daniel is told that Michael is "the great prince who standeth [present continuous tense; that is' he continues to stand] for the children of thy people (Dan. 12:1).
2. Rev. 12 describes a war that occurs in heaven. The time for that conflict can be pinpointed precisely in the middle of the seventieth week (Rev. 12:6, 13-14). It is described this way: And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (Rev. 12:7-8, 13). The woman represents Israel, who gave Christ (the male child) to the world (Rev. 12:5) and who will be severely persecuted during the great tribulation (Rev. 12:13-17).
3. Speaking of the one who hinders the Antichrist here in verse 7 Paul said, "only he who now restrains will continue to restrain until he be taken out of the way". The word "restrains" means to hold down, and the phrase taken out of the way means to step aside. Therefore, the one who had the job of restraining the Antichrist will step aside; that is he will no longer be a restraint between the Antichrist and those the Antichrist is persecuting.
4. The Bible is explicit that the archangel Michael is the personage who will step aside. Daniel records the event this way: "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time..." (Dan 12:1). When does Michael stand up? Daniel says that Michael will stand up during a time of trouble, such as there never was since there was a nation. That unprecedented time of trouble can only refer to the great tribulation. Since Daniel is told that this period of time is related to his people, this can only be the "time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer, 30:7), which is a synonym for the great tribulation. It is at that time that Michael will stand up.
The Hebrew word for "stand up" is AMAD, what does it mean? Rashi, one of Israel's greatest scholars and who had no concern regarding the issue of the rapture said that it means to stand still. The meaning is to stand aside or be inactive. Michael the guardian of Israel, had earlier fought for her (Dan. 10:13,21), but now the one who standeth as the protector of Israel will stand aside or stand still. He will not help, he will not restrain, he will not hold down. The Midrash commenting on this verse, according to Ruth Rabbah 1 says, "The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, "You are silent? You do not defend my children." Other biblical instances of stand up (AMAD) meaning to be still or desist are "they... stood still [desisted], and answered no more" (Job 32:16); and again, "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people (for he was above all the people); and when he had opened it, all the people stood up" (Neh. 8:5). Commenting on this verse, Rashi indicates that the people kept quiet (stood still) while Ezra read the Torah.
5. That special guardian relationship which Michael has with Israel is again underscored in a sometimes obscure comment made by Jude. "Yet Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses" (Jude 9). Further, Moses is thought to be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. Concerning these two witnesses, God said, "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days [three and a half years, based on the Jewish calendar], clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11:3). In that light, Michael's conflict with Satan over the body of Moses, as guardian of Israel, once again impacts the precise time of the great tribulation and the occasion where the restrainer will step aside.
2 Thes. 2:8, And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Then, after the restrainer is taken out of the way, will the lawless one be revealed made manifest. The restrainer will step aside, he will desist from lending a helping hand as Daniel recorded he would do, and that is what Paul confirmed in v.7. When that occurs, then we will have the fulfillment of v.8.
At His coming (PAROUSIA) the Antichrist's activities will be brought to a halt he will be rendered helpless because at His coming the day of the Lord commences. It is no longer the wrath of Satan through Antichrist against the Church and Israel, it is now the wrath of God on all that is ungodly. The Antichrist does not reign during the day of the Lord, he will not be looked upon as the one to be worshipped, the Lord and the Lord alone will be exalted in His day.
Ultimately Christ will destroy Antichrist at the final battle of Armageddon (the last event of the day of the Lord), but first, by the appearance of His coming (PAROUSIA), Christ will render him helpless, as the first event of the day of the Lord. Christ will in effect "handcuff" Antichrist and his forces and as Rotherham's Bible says, paralyze him. This restriction of Antichrist's power will happen "at the appearance of His coming"--in other words, when every eye will see Him", when the church is gathered to Christ in the clouds and the wrath of God begins. This interpretation gives greater understanding to Jesus' statement that "unless those days were cut short, no flesh (believing) would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short (Mat. 24:22). "Those days" is frequently referred to as the second half of the seventieth week. But the context makes it clear that Jesus was talking specifically about the great tribulation by Antichrist (v.21), not about his allotted time of authority upon the earth (Rev. 13:5).
If God were to cut short the last three and a half years, the seventieth week would no longer be a "week," since the last half would be less than three and a half years. Thus, it is the persecution of the great tribulation that will be cut short when Christ renders Antichrist (the perpetrator of the tribulation) helpless or paralyzed.
One pre-trib proponent (Jack Van Impe) stated that the cutting short means that God will cut short a twenty -four hour day to something less than twenty-four hours. If that were the case, no matter how you look at it, the seventieth week would not be seven years long which is in contradiction to what the scriptures say. Who are you going to believe man or God?
2 Thes. 2:9, The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
The coming of the Antichrist is in conformity with Satan who will be working in and through him. You must understand the phrase "with all power" does not mean that Satan or the Antichrist is omnipotent. Omnipotence is an attribute of God, therefore, one which Satan does not possess. This is not authentic power or genuine signs and wonders. These are power, signs, and wonders of falsehood because "lying" applies to all three.
They are miracles of falsehood because people who regard them as signs of proofs of the divinity of Antichrist are deceived. This is why he performs great miracles, so as to deceive people into believing that he is the Christ and he will deceive many. This will not be merely slight of the hand magicians tricks, they will be performed by dark, gloomy powers, manifestations of the demonic, monstrosities without any saving power. But they will get the attention of he world.
2 Thes. 2:10, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. These miraculous signs and wonders will convince those who perish (the ones who don't believe) that Antichrist is the messiah. Satan's false signs will also deceive those who did not welcome the love of the truth that they might be saved. That is they did not become disciples of Christ but continued to follow their own ways, and man made traditions.
"Saved" here does not refer to conversion, but to the salvation and inheritance which will be believers' when they are changed into Christ's likeness. From the very beginning of creation the central issue in man's relationship with God has been either his disregard of the Word and truth of God or his love for them. This is also a pivotal issue in the end times. Salvation will be realized by those who by faith in Christ maintain a fervent and sincere "love and truth," who believe with unwavering conviction what God has said, and who reject all new "revelation" or teaching that conflicts with the truth of God's word.
Professing believers will accept "new revelation" even though it conflicts with the revealed Word of God. This will lead to opposition to Biblical truth within churches. Already there are preachers who have preached a distorted gospel and have gained strategic leadership positions in denominations and theological training centers, enabling to deceive and mislead many within the church.
Protection against being deceived is found in an enduring faith and love for Christ, and a commitment to the absolute authority of His Word and a thorough knowledge of and obedience to His Word.
2 Thes. 2:11,12, And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Because of their moral rejection of the truth God will send them (the unbelieving) strong delusion, that they should believe the lie. A power is set in operation within them that makes them prone to embrace error. This will lead them the lie, not any lie that happens to come along, but the big lie, the false claims and pretensions of the Antichrist including the deity of man. The result will be that all who have not welcomed the love of the truth will "be damned" (judged, called to account, and condemned.
God's purpose in sending the "strong delusion" is so they will be damned because they did not accept the truth. These people approved, considered good, took delight in, and sought satisfaction in wrong doing, injustice wickedness and evil. In other words they kept going along with sin, considered it normal and promoted it as desirable. This delusion has already begun to some degree within the body of Christ, leading many to believe that those who practice the works of the flesh can still be acceptable to God.
2 Thes. 2:13-14, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here as Paul typically does, he goes into a prayer of thanks to God for the brethren who are loved by the Lord. These people are saved and sanctified by the Spirit and their belief in and obedience to the truth. The end purpose of the gospel is that they may obtain the glory of Jesus Christ at His coming.
2 Thes. 2:15, Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
In view of the glory to come, Paul challenged them and us to stand fast and keep holding on to the traditions (teachings) taught them by the Word (in his preaching) and in his epistles. The traditions here are not man made traditions, or denominational traditions, or even constitutional traditions, no, they are the traditions handed down to Paul by Jesus. Paul was emphasizing that his teaching was not a product of his own mind, he was simply passing on the message that was handed down to him by the Lord. Paul was not free to change the message or mix in any of his own ideas or assumptions. Let me add, neither are people free to do so today.
2 Thes. 2:16-17, Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
To his exhortation to stand firm, Paul added a prayer. In the final analysis, Christians cannot stand in their own strength or hold to the scriptures through their own understanding. Believers need the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ Himself to help them. As Christians stand firm, holding on to the teachings of God's Word, they can expect God and Christ to comfort (encourage) their hearts and to strengthen and confirm or firmly fix them, not merely in their minds, but in every good word and work.
2nd Thessalonians. Chapter 1
2 Thes. chapter ONE
2 Thes. 1:1-3, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,
Verses 1 & 2 is the typical opening that Paul uses in his letters.
Verse 3, Even though Paul writes this letter to correct a problem, he first drew attention to what was good about their situation. He does the proper and fitting thing, give thanks to God at all times concerning them. Paul felt very strongly that what God had done for the Thessalonian believers deserves his thanks to God.
Growth is always a sign of life and health. There faith and love was growing abundantly because of obedience to God's Word. Their faith was shown in service, in humility, in courtesy, and in consideration for one another. There love was a self-giving love that reached out to others, even to people they did not like, especially to people that did not deserve to be loved. Their love was shown without restriction.
2 Thes. 1:4, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.
As a result of their faith and love abounding, Paul gloried in them and boasted of them among all the churches. He especially rejoiced to tell other churches about the patience of the Thessalonians.
Patience is translated from the Greek word HUPOMONE (hoop-om-on-ay'), it means endurance, constancy, perseverance in the midst of difficulty. They put up with persecutions, tribulations, pressures, oppression, affliction and trouble without any complaining about their lot in life. They did not lose faith and hope when the unbelievers assaulted them because of their Christian testimony.
In the day that we are living most of us do not have enough of a Christian testimony to be assaulted for! What is there to boast about in the churches we are familiar with today? Are we going to boast about the lack of prayer? Are we going to boast about the lack of Holy Spirit anointed preaching? Are we going to boast about traditions of men and denominations that is making the Word of God to have no effect on our lives or the lives of unbelievers? Are we going to boast about how we uphold man-made constitutions above the Word of God? Are we going to boast about the sexual sins of the preachers and the saints in the pew? Are we going to boast that sinners can come in our midst and leave saying, "if that is all there is to it, I want know part of it? Are we to boast of the lack of conviction, the lack of faith, the lack of love, the lack of forgiveness, the lack of manifestations of the Spirit in healing, delivering, saving, and holiness in living power.
Church, we need to repent and return to obedience to God's Word! We need to pray for patience, the stickability to stay true to the Word of God.
2 Thes. 1:5, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
Paul is saying, your persecutions, your tribulations, the difficulties that you are enduring by those who have rejected the message will vindicate the outpouring of God's wrath during the day of the Lord. The persecutions of believers by the ungodly throughout the world will be one of the reasons that the judgment of God will be poured out.
The suffering and endurance of believers in the midst of tribulation indicates their fidelity to Christ and show their worthiness to rule and reign with God. This will be even more manifested during the great tribulation when the wrath of the Antichrist is against the elect of God. Paul said to endure all things for the elect's sake, for the sake of those who are elected or chosen to follow Jesus. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10-12, Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying: for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, he also will deny us. This means that believers are to stand their ground when others are fleeing, to hold out when others are giving up, to remain steadfast to the end no matter what we have to go through.
2 Thes. 1:6, since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you.
When God destroys evil it is a righteous act. God does no evil. It is not evil to get rid of evil, it is doing good when evil is gotten rid of. God is a God of love, and because of His love He is a God of justice and He will repay the wicked for rejecting the message of Jesus, and persecuting the people of God. This will be a righteous act on His part. To preach the love of God without the judgments of God, is not preaching the total gospel.
God's love can never embrace what His holiness condemns.
The same God who loves is the same God who will judge. The day of the Lord is the righteous judgments of a holy, loving God which will purge the planet earth from evil. That judgment will judge wicked men, it will judge false religion, and that judgment will judge the Antichrist and the false prophet. The day is coming when the words of Jonathan Edwards will be true, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God."
2 Thes 1:7, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, Those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
The only time the godly will be totally free from tribulation, (attack by Satan through ungodly people, ungodly systems and the Antichrist spirit) will be when Jesus is revealed (unveiling, disclosure, revealing) from heaven with His mighty angels. This unveiling is a term used to describe Christ coming to destroy the present world system and set up His kingdom on earth (Daniel 2:35,45). Then those who are troubled, persecuted and going through the great tribulation will be able to rest forever from persecution. This is exactly what the Bible teaches, He is coming to deliver His elect out from the great tribulation when He cuts it short, then immediately His day-of-the-Lord wrath begins.
Notice He is coming with His mighty angels. Turn back to 1 Thes. 3:13, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming (PAROUSIA) of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
There are those who would tell us that this is referring to when Jesus comes back to destroy the ungodly and set up His kingdom, and this happens seven years after the rapture takes place. The saints here, according to them are the raptured church which was raptured before the tribulation began. The context of this verse does not allow for that interpretation. When are the ones talked to in this verse going to be established blameless in holiness before God? When Jesus comes with all His saints!
Therefore, the saints referred to here cannot be living believers, because the living believer's hearts will be established blameless in holiness at this time. This is not His coming seven years after the rapture. This His is coming to rapture His church and establish them blameless and holy before God.
He is going to present to His Father a church without spot or wrinkle, after the compromising church is purified and by going through the fiery testing that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 4:12&13. These two verses are talking about the same event. See also Matt. 25:31, which says, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. There is no basis to read into these texts what is not there. The bible does not say that he is coming back with the raptured believers. The reason He is coming with his holy angels is that as soon as the rapture takes place He is going to begin to pour out His wrath. Who is it that assists in pouring out God's wrath? According to Revelation it is the angels, that is why they come with Him, they are the instruments through which He will manifest His power in judgment. He is coming with His angels and with the people who have died in Christ to raise them to be raptured with the living.
2 Thes. 1:8, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While the coming of Christ brings blessing to the believers, it will be a time of judgment upon those who have been enemies of the Gospel. Those who "know not God" include those who have willfully rejected the knowledge that was available to them. Those who "obey not the gospel" are those who heard it but actively rejected it, and took a course of disobedience. They are a specific group within the group that knows not God. They are even more guilty for they know what they are doing.
2 Thes. 1:9, These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
The term "everlasting destruction" does not mean annihilation, it does not mean cessation of life, it means eternal separation from God. They will be separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power forever, they will not have any fellowship with God. This banishment from the manifest presence of God will be the vindication of God's holy, righteous nature.
2 Thes. 1:10, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
In that day is referring to the day of the Lord when He will be glorified in His saints. His saints include the holy angels who carry out His wrath whom He brings with Him. He will be admired by all those who believe (the living believers and the believers who have been raised from the dead.
The saints and believers here are two different groups. Saints is the same Greek word as in 1 Thes. 3:13 which we have already dealt with, the meaning of which is holy ones (angels). He will be glorified in the holy ones He brings with them because they will assist in caring out God's wrath.
"Those who believe" is referring to all who put their trust in Jesus for their spiritual well- being because of believing the testimony of the gospel. I don't know what you are going through now, nor do I know what you will go through in the future, but I do know that if you will be patient and endure you will come forth as gold and reflect the glory of Christ.
Saints if you are not ready to die for Him in the future, you are not ready to live for Him in the now.
2 Thes. 1:11,12, Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here again as Paul is known to do He breaks out in prayer for the believers. Only in connection with acts of faith could Paul's petition in this prayer be fulfilled. Then, through the believers' worthy response to His call, their delight in goodness, and their activity of faith, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in them and they in Him.
2 Thes. 1:1-3, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,
Verses 1 & 2 is the typical opening that Paul uses in his letters.
Verse 3, Even though Paul writes this letter to correct a problem, he first drew attention to what was good about their situation. He does the proper and fitting thing, give thanks to God at all times concerning them. Paul felt very strongly that what God had done for the Thessalonian believers deserves his thanks to God.
Growth is always a sign of life and health. There faith and love was growing abundantly because of obedience to God's Word. Their faith was shown in service, in humility, in courtesy, and in consideration for one another. There love was a self-giving love that reached out to others, even to people they did not like, especially to people that did not deserve to be loved. Their love was shown without restriction.
2 Thes. 1:4, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure.
As a result of their faith and love abounding, Paul gloried in them and boasted of them among all the churches. He especially rejoiced to tell other churches about the patience of the Thessalonians.
Patience is translated from the Greek word HUPOMONE (hoop-om-on-ay'), it means endurance, constancy, perseverance in the midst of difficulty. They put up with persecutions, tribulations, pressures, oppression, affliction and trouble without any complaining about their lot in life. They did not lose faith and hope when the unbelievers assaulted them because of their Christian testimony.
In the day that we are living most of us do not have enough of a Christian testimony to be assaulted for! What is there to boast about in the churches we are familiar with today? Are we going to boast about the lack of prayer? Are we going to boast about the lack of Holy Spirit anointed preaching? Are we going to boast about traditions of men and denominations that is making the Word of God to have no effect on our lives or the lives of unbelievers? Are we going to boast about how we uphold man-made constitutions above the Word of God? Are we going to boast about the sexual sins of the preachers and the saints in the pew? Are we going to boast that sinners can come in our midst and leave saying, "if that is all there is to it, I want know part of it? Are we to boast of the lack of conviction, the lack of faith, the lack of love, the lack of forgiveness, the lack of manifestations of the Spirit in healing, delivering, saving, and holiness in living power.
Church, we need to repent and return to obedience to God's Word! We need to pray for patience, the stickability to stay true to the Word of God.
2 Thes. 1:5, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
Paul is saying, your persecutions, your tribulations, the difficulties that you are enduring by those who have rejected the message will vindicate the outpouring of God's wrath during the day of the Lord. The persecutions of believers by the ungodly throughout the world will be one of the reasons that the judgment of God will be poured out.
The suffering and endurance of believers in the midst of tribulation indicates their fidelity to Christ and show their worthiness to rule and reign with God. This will be even more manifested during the great tribulation when the wrath of the Antichrist is against the elect of God. Paul said to endure all things for the elect's sake, for the sake of those who are elected or chosen to follow Jesus. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:10-12, Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This is a faithful saying: for if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, he also will deny us. This means that believers are to stand their ground when others are fleeing, to hold out when others are giving up, to remain steadfast to the end no matter what we have to go through.
2 Thes. 1:6, since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you.
When God destroys evil it is a righteous act. God does no evil. It is not evil to get rid of evil, it is doing good when evil is gotten rid of. God is a God of love, and because of His love He is a God of justice and He will repay the wicked for rejecting the message of Jesus, and persecuting the people of God. This will be a righteous act on His part. To preach the love of God without the judgments of God, is not preaching the total gospel.
God's love can never embrace what His holiness condemns.
The same God who loves is the same God who will judge. The day of the Lord is the righteous judgments of a holy, loving God which will purge the planet earth from evil. That judgment will judge wicked men, it will judge false religion, and that judgment will judge the Antichrist and the false prophet. The day is coming when the words of Jonathan Edwards will be true, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God."
2 Thes 1:7, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, Those who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
The only time the godly will be totally free from tribulation, (attack by Satan through ungodly people, ungodly systems and the Antichrist spirit) will be when Jesus is revealed (unveiling, disclosure, revealing) from heaven with His mighty angels. This unveiling is a term used to describe Christ coming to destroy the present world system and set up His kingdom on earth (Daniel 2:35,45). Then those who are troubled, persecuted and going through the great tribulation will be able to rest forever from persecution. This is exactly what the Bible teaches, He is coming to deliver His elect out from the great tribulation when He cuts it short, then immediately His day-of-the-Lord wrath begins.
Notice He is coming with His mighty angels. Turn back to 1 Thes. 3:13, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming (PAROUSIA) of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
There are those who would tell us that this is referring to when Jesus comes back to destroy the ungodly and set up His kingdom, and this happens seven years after the rapture takes place. The saints here, according to them are the raptured church which was raptured before the tribulation began. The context of this verse does not allow for that interpretation. When are the ones talked to in this verse going to be established blameless in holiness before God? When Jesus comes with all His saints!
Therefore, the saints referred to here cannot be living believers, because the living believer's hearts will be established blameless in holiness at this time. This is not His coming seven years after the rapture. This His is coming to rapture His church and establish them blameless and holy before God.
He is going to present to His Father a church without spot or wrinkle, after the compromising church is purified and by going through the fiery testing that Peter talks about in 1 Peter 4:12&13. These two verses are talking about the same event. See also Matt. 25:31, which says, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. There is no basis to read into these texts what is not there. The bible does not say that he is coming back with the raptured believers. The reason He is coming with his holy angels is that as soon as the rapture takes place He is going to begin to pour out His wrath. Who is it that assists in pouring out God's wrath? According to Revelation it is the angels, that is why they come with Him, they are the instruments through which He will manifest His power in judgment. He is coming with His angels and with the people who have died in Christ to raise them to be raptured with the living.
2 Thes. 1:8, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
While the coming of Christ brings blessing to the believers, it will be a time of judgment upon those who have been enemies of the Gospel. Those who "know not God" include those who have willfully rejected the knowledge that was available to them. Those who "obey not the gospel" are those who heard it but actively rejected it, and took a course of disobedience. They are a specific group within the group that knows not God. They are even more guilty for they know what they are doing.
2 Thes. 1:9, These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
The term "everlasting destruction" does not mean annihilation, it does not mean cessation of life, it means eternal separation from God. They will be separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power forever, they will not have any fellowship with God. This banishment from the manifest presence of God will be the vindication of God's holy, righteous nature.
2 Thes. 1:10, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.
In that day is referring to the day of the Lord when He will be glorified in His saints. His saints include the holy angels who carry out His wrath whom He brings with Him. He will be admired by all those who believe (the living believers and the believers who have been raised from the dead.
The saints and believers here are two different groups. Saints is the same Greek word as in 1 Thes. 3:13 which we have already dealt with, the meaning of which is holy ones (angels). He will be glorified in the holy ones He brings with them because they will assist in caring out God's wrath.
"Those who believe" is referring to all who put their trust in Jesus for their spiritual well- being because of believing the testimony of the gospel. I don't know what you are going through now, nor do I know what you will go through in the future, but I do know that if you will be patient and endure you will come forth as gold and reflect the glory of Christ.
Saints if you are not ready to die for Him in the future, you are not ready to live for Him in the now.
2 Thes. 1:11,12, Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here again as Paul is known to do He breaks out in prayer for the believers. Only in connection with acts of faith could Paul's petition in this prayer be fulfilled. Then, through the believers' worthy response to His call, their delight in goodness, and their activity of faith, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in them and they in Him.
A Study in Second Thessalonians. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Probably within weeks of writing First Thessalonians Paul gets a report on how they are doing and writes his second letter.
The return of the Lord is of central importance in both letters. First Thessalonians reveals that some believers were perplexed over the death of loved ones and whether they might miss the Lord's return.
In Second Thessalonians a different problem surfaces, but one still related to the coming of the Lord.
Since Paul's first letter, the seeds of false doctrine have been sown among the Thessalonians, causing them to waver in their faith. Paul removes these destructive seeds and again plants the seeds of truth. He begins by commending the believers on their faithfulness in the midst of persecution and encouraging them that present suffering will be repaid with future glory. Therefore in the midst of persecution, expectation can be high.
Paul then deals with the central matter, a misunderstanding spawned by false teachers regarding the day of the Lord. There were still, in this church, clear concerns over imbalanced attitudes related to Christ's coming. "We hear," said the apostle (3:11), "that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all...." Work stoppage it seems was prompted by an erroneous teaching that "the day of the Lord had already come" (2:2). Whatever the source of this erroneous teaching, Paul quickly wrote Second Thessalonians to round out the proper way to understand the return of the Lord.
Understand that in First Thessalonians the believers were concerned about what would happen to their loved ones who had died with regard to the benefits that the living would receive at the coming of Jesus. What would become of them they wondered, since Jesus had not yet come.
Here in this letter, they had been told that the day of the Lord had already come. They understood from Paul's teaching that when Jesus came the dead in Christ would rise first then, both the raised dead and the surviving living would be caught up at the same time to be forever with the Lord. "Hey Paul, you told us that we would be united with our dead loved ones and then we would be raptured together to go to be with the Lord. Now we have been told by teachers (false), that the day of the Lord has all ready come. Now you told us that after Jesus comes, the day of the Lord begins, the day of the Lord is here, our loved ones are still dead and we are not raptured, now what is going on?"
Paul corrects this false teaching by telling them, that day (the day of the lord) will not come until certain events take place. First, there will be a falling away, and second, the Man of Sin will be revealed. Paul admonishes them to believe the traditions and fixed beliefs that he taught them about the coming of Jesus as a check upon all teaching concerning that event.
He also gives strong warnings about and to people who would teach anything different than what he taught concerning the coming of Jesus.
Probably within weeks of writing First Thessalonians Paul gets a report on how they are doing and writes his second letter.
The return of the Lord is of central importance in both letters. First Thessalonians reveals that some believers were perplexed over the death of loved ones and whether they might miss the Lord's return.
In Second Thessalonians a different problem surfaces, but one still related to the coming of the Lord.
Since Paul's first letter, the seeds of false doctrine have been sown among the Thessalonians, causing them to waver in their faith. Paul removes these destructive seeds and again plants the seeds of truth. He begins by commending the believers on their faithfulness in the midst of persecution and encouraging them that present suffering will be repaid with future glory. Therefore in the midst of persecution, expectation can be high.
Paul then deals with the central matter, a misunderstanding spawned by false teachers regarding the day of the Lord. There were still, in this church, clear concerns over imbalanced attitudes related to Christ's coming. "We hear," said the apostle (3:11), "that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all...." Work stoppage it seems was prompted by an erroneous teaching that "the day of the Lord had already come" (2:2). Whatever the source of this erroneous teaching, Paul quickly wrote Second Thessalonians to round out the proper way to understand the return of the Lord.
Understand that in First Thessalonians the believers were concerned about what would happen to their loved ones who had died with regard to the benefits that the living would receive at the coming of Jesus. What would become of them they wondered, since Jesus had not yet come.
Here in this letter, they had been told that the day of the Lord had already come. They understood from Paul's teaching that when Jesus came the dead in Christ would rise first then, both the raised dead and the surviving living would be caught up at the same time to be forever with the Lord. "Hey Paul, you told us that we would be united with our dead loved ones and then we would be raptured together to go to be with the Lord. Now we have been told by teachers (false), that the day of the Lord has all ready come. Now you told us that after Jesus comes, the day of the Lord begins, the day of the Lord is here, our loved ones are still dead and we are not raptured, now what is going on?"
Paul corrects this false teaching by telling them, that day (the day of the lord) will not come until certain events take place. First, there will be a falling away, and second, the Man of Sin will be revealed. Paul admonishes them to believe the traditions and fixed beliefs that he taught them about the coming of Jesus as a check upon all teaching concerning that event.
He also gives strong warnings about and to people who would teach anything different than what he taught concerning the coming of Jesus.
First Thessalonians Chapter 5
1 Thessalonians Chapter FIVE
1 Thes. 5:1, But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
Paul here, continues the same discussion as in the previous chapter but with emphasis placed in another area. It is not a new topic, he deals with a new issue within the same framework. The topic is still the coming of Christ (PAROUSIA).
Chapter 5 is a discussion in the same context as the previous chapter. "Times and seasons", times denotes times in general or chronology (giving exact dates of events); seasons denotes definite points or periods of time in that chronology. The expression is not a haphazard one, but refers to the whole providential arrangement marked out by God, and is here used with special emphasis upon the time of the end when the Lord was to come again. "You have no need that I write unto you." It was not because such instruction would not be useful to them, but because Paul had already by word of mouth taught them as much as could be known.
1 Thes. 5:2-3, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Remember in 4:13 he does not want them to be ignorant, then proceeds to explain to them what they do not know. Here he says, concerning the times and seasons, I don't need to explain to you because you already understand because I have already told you about it. They knew perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. Just what is the day of the Lord? What is it all about? See study on "The Day of The Lord" on my HOMEPAGE.
1 Thes. 5:4, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
In Verse 3, "when they shall say peace and safety" who are the "they" referring to? The unsaved. "Sudden destruction comes upon them" who is meant by them? The unsaved. "And they shall not escape" they there refers to the unsaved also. So for the unsaved the day of the Lord will be totally unexpected, they will be totally caught of guard. His coming for the rapture of the Church and to begin judging the world will be as a thief in the night for the unsaved. "But you, brethren" who are the "you" referred to here? Christians. "Overtake you as a thief" You here is also referring to Christians. What Paul said about the day of the Lord with its judgments catching men by surprise applies only to the wicked, the careless, the unbelieving, the spiritually unprepared. This verse makes a strong contrast between believers and the unbelievers of verse 3. If the Rapture were pretribulational and signless, that day, would in fact, overtake believers as a thief in the night. But this verse says it will not. The Lord promises His children both a sign (Luke 21:25), so they would not be caught off guard, and deliverance from His wrath (Luke 21:28).
1 Thes. 5:5, You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
You are sons of light, you are not sons of darkness, therefore that day will not come as a thief in the night. Let me say here that Christians will not know the day or the hour that Christ will come, but they will know the general time period because of the events that will take place prior to His coming as indicated in the fig tree account.
1 Thes 5:6-8, Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Verse 6, Christians are not to sleep as others (unbelievers) do. Christian are to watch and be sober. Why are Christians told to watch, and what are they to watch for? Turn to Rev 3:3, "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Now turn to Mark 13:35-37, "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming-- in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--"lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
The word for "watch" in theses verses are all translated from the same Greek word "GREGOREO" (gray-gor-yoo-o) (1127), "to watch," is used (a) of "keeping awake," e. g., Matt. 24:43; 26:38,40,41; (b) of "spiritual alertness," e. g., Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 16:13; Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:6,10 ; 1 Pet. 5:8, RV, "be watchful" (KJV, "be vigilant"); Rev. 3:2,3; 16:15.
This word does not mean that His coming is secret, it does not mean to keep looking at the sky for His imminent return. This word has in view of being preserved from sinning and of being guided rightly in our daily life. If we do not watch, (be spiritual alert) out thoughts and attention will be focused in the wrong direction and we will fail to live holy lives in anticipation of His return.
We are to be watching unto prayer, holiness, righteous living, and obedience so as not to be lulled to sleep spiritually by the cares of the world, which will dull our spiritual senses preventing us from discerning the signs of the time that point to Christ's return. We are to watch our relationship with God so there will be nothing hindering us from being obedient to His word, and so nothing will hinder us from recognizing the signs that point to His return.
So the day of the Lord will not overtake them as a thief in the night. Watch for what? Watch for the specific indicators. As the fig tree indicates that summer is getting close when certain things happen to it. Certain events will indicate that the Lord's return, His coming to rapture the Church and begin His day of the Lord's wrath to judge the wicked.
Let me tell you my Christian friend, if you are not in prayer, if you are not in the word, if you are not obeying the word you are a candidate for being lulled to sleep in the arms of deception. If you are more concerned about obeying the doctrines of your denomination rather than obeying the doctrines of the Bible you are being lulled to sleep. Don't put your trust in a man or a denomination, put your trust in God and in His Word. For it is the truth that will set you free.
Verse 7, People who adhere to something other than the Word of God have their spiritual sensitivity dulled as a drunken man has his sensibilities deadened and has fallen asleep and is unconscious of his true condition. If your denomination teaches something that is contrary to God's Word and you believe it, deception will come upon you and you will be unconscious of the truth in God's Word.
Verse 8, Because Christians are of the day they are to be sober, that means to be self controlled, and well-balanced so they can make the proper preparations. Put on the breastplate of faith and love. Faith in God's Word and a love for God's Word will keep you true to God's Word instead of to some man or to a denomination. "Who" here, is suppose to put on for an helmet the hope of salvation, the sinner or the saint? The saint. Salvation here speaks of the believers' future inheritance, including everything that will be theirs when Jesus comes again including deliverance out from within the Great Tribulation when God cuts it short.
1 Thes. 5:9, For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whose wrath is it that we are not appointed to? The wrath of God. He delivers us from the wrath of God (the judgments of the day of the Lord) The confirming of Israel's covenant with death, will set in motion the seven years known as the seventieth week of Daniel. The first three and one-half years of the seventieth week is made up entirely of the events resulting from the opening of the first three seals (Rev. 6:1-6). As each seal is broken the first three horseman are released to carry out a specific form of deception or afflictions on the earth. These events--false christs, wars famines and plagues-- correspond to Christ's description of these same events in the Olivet Discourse, as we have already seen. Yet Christ refers to these afflictions as "merely the beginning of birth pangs" (Matt. 24:8) which occur before the great tribulation--for as Christ clearly states, it will only be after these afflictions that "they will deliver you up to tribulation" (v.9). Or as He explains a little later in (v.21), "then there will be great tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be." The first three and a half years, then, are "merely the beginning of the birth pangs."
However, the great tribulation by Antichrist--"that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10), depicted by the fourth horseman representing death--does not occur until the second half of the seventieth "week" begins. Directly related to this, it is essential to understand that the great calamities brought on by the first three horsemen are not the beginning or any part of God's day-of-the-Lord wrath; the same is true even of the great tribulation (the fourth horseman) which will follow during the second half of the seventieth week. Although this is contrary to the interpretation of many Christians who attempt to keep the church out of the seventieth week by equating the whole of the seventieth week with the wrath of God, it is essential to understand that these events do not correspond to the day-of-the-Lord wrath and that the church will not be raptured before these events occur.
The problem is not in believing that the Rapture will occur before God's wrath (this is an undisputed truth among all conservative Christians who interpret the Scriptures literally), but that his wrath begins with the opening of the seventieth week and the opening of the first seal. No matter how sincerely pretribulationalism is taught and believed, it unintentionally plays into the hands of Satan by giving the church a false sense of security from end-time affliction. It teaches that the church will be a "heavenly onlooker" to that time of tribulation, whereas in truth, God has ordained that His Church will very much be an earthly participant. The persecution of the church will be a prior condition to the wrath of God as we will see in 2 Thes. 1:4-8.
There are a number of reasons, all of them biblical and logically sound, that show why the entire seventieth week cannot be equated with the day of the Lord. Although the day of the Lord does begin sometime during the second half of the seventieth week at the opening of the seventh seal:
First, although some of the events depicted in the second, third and fourth seals are used in the O.T. to describe the wrath of God, nowhere in Scripture are the first four seal of Revelation referred to as manifestations of His wrath during the day of the Lord. Careful study of the Hebrew words translated "wrath" in the O.T. clearly indicates that the strong Hebrew word explicitly used in connection with God's day-of-the-Lord wrath against the nations is not the same Hebrew word used in relation to God's chastisement of Israel through natural disasters.
Four different Hebrew words are translated wrath or anger. CHEMA (#2534) canotes hot displeasure or indignation. CHARON (#2740) means heat or burning anger. QETSEPH (#7110) simply carries the idea of wrath or indignation. EBRAH (#5678), on the other hand, is by far the strongest of those terms and refers to the overflowing fury of God. It is only this term that is specifically used of God's day-of-the-Lord wrath, and its context is always the nations, not Israel. Zephaniah 1:14,15,18, uses EBRAH of God's judgmental wrath, but the target of the wrath are the inhabitants of the earth at large, not the nation of Israel. Ezekiel 14:19-21, is perhaps the most often used passage to support the idea that the first four seals involve God's wrath during the day of the Lord, uses the milder term CHEMAH. God's wrath is here focused on Israel, but this Hebrew term carries the idea of severe discipline but not condemning wrath. Another milder form QETSEPH is used in Numbers 16:46 and 2 Chron. 29:8,9. The third mild form CHARON is used only in Ezekiel 7:14. Here it is associated with God's discipline of Israel by Babylon, by use of sword, plague and famine. Again no mention of false messiahs. The strong Hebrew word EBRAH is used in Ezekiel 38:19-22. This passage is certainly a reference to God's wrath during the day of the Lord. But like in Zephaniah 1:14-18, the use of EBRAH in the Ezekiel 38, context refers to the wrath of God against the nations who have come against Israel in the last days (v.16), just before His wrath is poured out, not the entire seventieth week, making absolutely no reference to false messiahs, famines, plagues, or the persecution of God's own elect which embody the general focus of the first five seals.
Second, God's wrath is not spoken of in Revelation until after the sixth seal is broken and the great cosmic disturbances are displayed as the sign of the end of the age (see Matt. 24:3,29) --this sign being the event which God has told His people will announce the beginning of the day of the Lord. After the sixth seal is broken we are told that the "wrath of the Lamb" (Christ) is about to commence (Rev, 6:15-17). When the seventh seal is broken, initiating the wrath of God, His angelic reapers will directly administer His wrath; and Revelation records that indeed it is the angels who carry out the trumpet and bowl judgments, exactly as explained by Christ in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:30,39).
Third, it is clear that Christ associates the activities of the first seal with false christs (Matt.24:5). If the four horsemen are instrument's of God's wrath, then God would be in the unthinkable position of sending "false christs" as His own agents to deceive His own elect! Such a logical contradiction is excluded not only by common sense, but explicitly by Christ Himself. When accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of Satan, the Lord said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?" (Matt. 12:25,26).
Fourth, if the entire seventieth week is the day of the Lord, the wrath of God would be directly responsible for the fifth-seal martyrdom of the "souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained" (Rev. 6:9). Such a position directly contradicts the divine assurance, that all who believe in Him (not just believers before the seventieth week) have the "hope of salvation [deliverance]."
The word "salvation" in 1 Thes 5:9, is translated from the Greek word SOTERIA (so-tay-ree'-ah); and it means to rescue or deliver. Vine's dictionary says, "S0TERIA" denotes deliverance, preservation, salvation, of the future deliverance of believers at the Parousia of Christ for His saints, a salvation which is the object of their confident hope, e. g., Rom. 13:11; 1 Thes. 5:8, and v. 9, where "salvation" is assured to them, as being deliverance from the wrath of God destined to be executed upon the ungodly at the end of this age (see 1 Thes. 1:10); 2 Thes. 2:13; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5; 2 Pet. 3:15; of the deliverance of the nation of Israel at the second advent of Christ at the time of "the epiphany (or shining forth) of His Parousia" 2 Thes. 2:8; Luke 1:71; Rev. 12:10;
No the fifth seal martyrdom of these faithful saints is not due to the wrath of God, it is a result of wrath that has its roots directly tied to the kingdom of darkness--not God's wrath but Satan's (Rev. 12:12).
Fifth, if the day of the Lord were to begin at the opening of the seventieth week, Antichrist would prevail over the Lord for the majority of those seven years! While God was supposedly venting His wrath upon the earth, Antichrist would be expanding his satanic kingdom. And after Michael's restraint is removed at the midpoint of the week, Satan's minion would have still greater reign over the earth, even to the point of sitting on His throne in God's temple and demanding worship from the world.
If the day of the Lord were to include the entire seventieth week, it would be a mockery of God's omnipotence. Isaiah speaks directly to that issue: For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up-- and it shall be brought low-- The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, If"the Lord alone shall be exalted" in that day, it is an irrational contradiction to believe that during the Lord's own day an unhindered Antichrist will be demanding and receiving the world's worship of himself. I could give you more evidence of the fact that the entire seventieth week is not the day of the Lord but I do not want to belabor the point, the evidence is clear and Scriptural.
It is a contradiction to claim that the entire seventieth week and the day of the Lord are one and the same. This teaching is explicitly refuted by the very words of our Lord, for Christ says: "when you see all these things, recognize that He [Christ] is near, right at the door" (Matt.24:33). In the context of His promise, "these things" refers to all the events up to and including the sign of the end of the age which comes "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (v.29). Therefore the wrath of God cannot occur until after "these things" occur, making it impossible to equate the whole of the seventieth week with the wrath of God. Those, then, that hold to this view in an attempt to keep the church out of the seventieth week are preparing the sheep that they shepherd for the slaughter of Antichrist.
We shall see that Paul in 2 Thessalonians warns that those sitting under that teaching are to "let no one in any way deceive you" (2:23), then Paul goes on to give the timing, (not the exact time) of the day of the Lord, explaining that it will not come until after Antichrist "takes his seat in the temple...."
1 Thes. 5:10, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
The truth here is that death has no control over the believer. It matters not if we are alive or dead we will not miss out on one promise associated with Christ's return.
1 Thes. 5:11, Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
Because you now know that your dead loved ones in Christ, will inherit exactly the same as those who are alive at His return, comfort one another, edify and build up each other.
Paul now concludes this letter with a series of loving exhortations.
1 Thes. 5:12-13, And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Though it is the Christian's responsibility to edify each other, he needs additional encouragement and guidance. Therefore God has called and chosen leaders, equipped by the Spirit to work among Christians. They are over believers in the Lord, that does not mean that they are more spiritual, or favored by God, or they are to Lord over God's people. It simply means they are concerned about believers, care for them, and give them help to understand the things of God.
Christians are to submit to pastors, elders, and teachers only if these people are submitted and obedient to God and His Word. You do not have to submit to leaders who operate in the flesh (carnal nature) rather than obeying God's Word. Men of God who are called of God, sent by God, and who obey God are to be highly esteemed by those whom they serve. They are not to be placed on a pedestal and worshipped. It means they are to be respected, prayed for, and cared for by those whom God has placed in their care.
"Esteem them in love for their work's sake". This implies that these spiritual leaders are really working hard as servants of the body, not as lord's over them. If you do this to godly appointed men you will be at peace among yourselves.
1 Thes. 5:14-15, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
This is an exhortation for all the church to heed. All Christians have the responsibility to warn the unruly (including the idle or lazy). The unruly include those people who uphold the doctrines of man or a denomination above the truth of God's word. "Warn" here means more than a rebuke or just telling somebody that they are wrong. It includes the idea of instructing and teaching, believers must help the "unruly" to see they are going in the wrong direction and show them how to get back on the right path (Gal. 6:1).
"Comfort the fainthearted" means to encourage those who are to weak to have any real purpose to overcome discouragement and want to give up. Upholding the weak implies holding on tightly to keep them from drifting away and to keep them in fellowship with the believers, never criticizing them for their weakness, but assuring them that they have the support of the believers and the Lord. Thus the need for patience. This kind of patience will keep believers from holding grudges and from taking revenge or trying to pay back evil with evil. When somebody gives it to you with both barrels, do not repay it with evil. If you harbor unforgivness you will suffer for it, it will eat you out inside and rob you of the joy of the Lord.
1 Thes 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
If you do not forgive you will not be able to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, or give thanks in everything. These things are the mark of individual and collective worship. They ought to be a part of the believer's daily life. If we fail to obey these commands we are being disobedient to God's Word.
Notice it says, "in everything give thanks", not "for" everything give thanks. We are to give thanks in everything for it is the will of God to give Him thanks no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. We give thanks to God for who He is and what He has done. He is worthy of praise no matter if we feel like praising Him or not, so we are to do it. Our praising will lift us above our circumstances and sometimes cause them to turn around.
1 Thes 5:19-22, Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Do not quench the working of the Spirit in our own life or the lives of others. Do not scorn prophecies even if they are not what you believe. It is possible, however remote you may think it is, that you are wrong and the other is right. Pastors and leaders need especially to obey these commands in order for body ministry to take place. To many pastors today quench (suppress, extinguish) the fire of the Spirit. Some pastors put out the Spirit's fire because they are afraid that somebody will get into the flesh. If you are afraid of the flesh, deal with the ones in the flesh, don't act God and put a halt to the working of the Spirit. If you do, you are operating in the flesh in bringing reproach to the Spirit of God.
1 Thes 5:21,22, Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
The idea is to check out all things with the idea of accepting them if it is in line with God's Word. Once you have searched the scriptures to see if what is being said over the pulpit, or being done as a means of worship, hold fast to what is good and disregard what is no good. If a prophesy is of God it will line up with His Word and it will come to pass. Anything that is not done in faith is evil, abstain from it.
1 Thes 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul in his final prayer in this letter Paul is telling us that it is possible for our whole being, spirit, soul, and body to be set apart unto God. We can with the help of God bring our thoughts and our bodies in line with our recreated, born again spirit so that our whole being will be blameless, without fault, pure, and holy at Christ's coming.
1 Thes 5:24-28, He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
The one who has called you is faithful to do what has been talked about in this letter. To greet the brethren with a holy kiss was an acceptable practice in that day and in the earlier days of Christianity. It is still practiced in some cultures. Holy is the key word here. This letter contains correct doctrine so everybody is to be aware of its contents so as not to miss the message of the Spirit. Paul then closes with a benediction, a common way he ended most of his letters.
1 Thes. 5:1, But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.
Paul here, continues the same discussion as in the previous chapter but with emphasis placed in another area. It is not a new topic, he deals with a new issue within the same framework. The topic is still the coming of Christ (PAROUSIA).
Chapter 5 is a discussion in the same context as the previous chapter. "Times and seasons", times denotes times in general or chronology (giving exact dates of events); seasons denotes definite points or periods of time in that chronology. The expression is not a haphazard one, but refers to the whole providential arrangement marked out by God, and is here used with special emphasis upon the time of the end when the Lord was to come again. "You have no need that I write unto you." It was not because such instruction would not be useful to them, but because Paul had already by word of mouth taught them as much as could be known.
1 Thes. 5:2-3, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Remember in 4:13 he does not want them to be ignorant, then proceeds to explain to them what they do not know. Here he says, concerning the times and seasons, I don't need to explain to you because you already understand because I have already told you about it. They knew perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. Just what is the day of the Lord? What is it all about? See study on "The Day of The Lord" on my HOMEPAGE.
1 Thes. 5:4, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
In Verse 3, "when they shall say peace and safety" who are the "they" referring to? The unsaved. "Sudden destruction comes upon them" who is meant by them? The unsaved. "And they shall not escape" they there refers to the unsaved also. So for the unsaved the day of the Lord will be totally unexpected, they will be totally caught of guard. His coming for the rapture of the Church and to begin judging the world will be as a thief in the night for the unsaved. "But you, brethren" who are the "you" referred to here? Christians. "Overtake you as a thief" You here is also referring to Christians. What Paul said about the day of the Lord with its judgments catching men by surprise applies only to the wicked, the careless, the unbelieving, the spiritually unprepared. This verse makes a strong contrast between believers and the unbelievers of verse 3. If the Rapture were pretribulational and signless, that day, would in fact, overtake believers as a thief in the night. But this verse says it will not. The Lord promises His children both a sign (Luke 21:25), so they would not be caught off guard, and deliverance from His wrath (Luke 21:28).
1 Thes. 5:5, You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
You are sons of light, you are not sons of darkness, therefore that day will not come as a thief in the night. Let me say here that Christians will not know the day or the hour that Christ will come, but they will know the general time period because of the events that will take place prior to His coming as indicated in the fig tree account.
1 Thes 5:6-8, Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
Verse 6, Christians are not to sleep as others (unbelievers) do. Christian are to watch and be sober. Why are Christians told to watch, and what are they to watch for? Turn to Rev 3:3, "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
Now turn to Mark 13:35-37, "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming-- in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--"lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. "And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"
The word for "watch" in theses verses are all translated from the same Greek word "GREGOREO" (gray-gor-yoo-o) (1127), "to watch," is used (a) of "keeping awake," e. g., Matt. 24:43; 26:38,40,41; (b) of "spiritual alertness," e. g., Acts 20:31; 1 Cor. 16:13; Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:6,10 ; 1 Pet. 5:8, RV, "be watchful" (KJV, "be vigilant"); Rev. 3:2,3; 16:15.
This word does not mean that His coming is secret, it does not mean to keep looking at the sky for His imminent return. This word has in view of being preserved from sinning and of being guided rightly in our daily life. If we do not watch, (be spiritual alert) out thoughts and attention will be focused in the wrong direction and we will fail to live holy lives in anticipation of His return.
We are to be watching unto prayer, holiness, righteous living, and obedience so as not to be lulled to sleep spiritually by the cares of the world, which will dull our spiritual senses preventing us from discerning the signs of the time that point to Christ's return. We are to watch our relationship with God so there will be nothing hindering us from being obedient to His word, and so nothing will hinder us from recognizing the signs that point to His return.
So the day of the Lord will not overtake them as a thief in the night. Watch for what? Watch for the specific indicators. As the fig tree indicates that summer is getting close when certain things happen to it. Certain events will indicate that the Lord's return, His coming to rapture the Church and begin His day of the Lord's wrath to judge the wicked.
Let me tell you my Christian friend, if you are not in prayer, if you are not in the word, if you are not obeying the word you are a candidate for being lulled to sleep in the arms of deception. If you are more concerned about obeying the doctrines of your denomination rather than obeying the doctrines of the Bible you are being lulled to sleep. Don't put your trust in a man or a denomination, put your trust in God and in His Word. For it is the truth that will set you free.
Verse 7, People who adhere to something other than the Word of God have their spiritual sensitivity dulled as a drunken man has his sensibilities deadened and has fallen asleep and is unconscious of his true condition. If your denomination teaches something that is contrary to God's Word and you believe it, deception will come upon you and you will be unconscious of the truth in God's Word.
Verse 8, Because Christians are of the day they are to be sober, that means to be self controlled, and well-balanced so they can make the proper preparations. Put on the breastplate of faith and love. Faith in God's Word and a love for God's Word will keep you true to God's Word instead of to some man or to a denomination. "Who" here, is suppose to put on for an helmet the hope of salvation, the sinner or the saint? The saint. Salvation here speaks of the believers' future inheritance, including everything that will be theirs when Jesus comes again including deliverance out from within the Great Tribulation when God cuts it short.
1 Thes. 5:9, For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whose wrath is it that we are not appointed to? The wrath of God. He delivers us from the wrath of God (the judgments of the day of the Lord) The confirming of Israel's covenant with death, will set in motion the seven years known as the seventieth week of Daniel. The first three and one-half years of the seventieth week is made up entirely of the events resulting from the opening of the first three seals (Rev. 6:1-6). As each seal is broken the first three horseman are released to carry out a specific form of deception or afflictions on the earth. These events--false christs, wars famines and plagues-- correspond to Christ's description of these same events in the Olivet Discourse, as we have already seen. Yet Christ refers to these afflictions as "merely the beginning of birth pangs" (Matt. 24:8) which occur before the great tribulation--for as Christ clearly states, it will only be after these afflictions that "they will deliver you up to tribulation" (v.9). Or as He explains a little later in (v.21), "then there will be great tribulation, such as not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be." The first three and a half years, then, are "merely the beginning of the birth pangs."
However, the great tribulation by Antichrist--"that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10), depicted by the fourth horseman representing death--does not occur until the second half of the seventieth "week" begins. Directly related to this, it is essential to understand that the great calamities brought on by the first three horsemen are not the beginning or any part of God's day-of-the-Lord wrath; the same is true even of the great tribulation (the fourth horseman) which will follow during the second half of the seventieth week. Although this is contrary to the interpretation of many Christians who attempt to keep the church out of the seventieth week by equating the whole of the seventieth week with the wrath of God, it is essential to understand that these events do not correspond to the day-of-the-Lord wrath and that the church will not be raptured before these events occur.
The problem is not in believing that the Rapture will occur before God's wrath (this is an undisputed truth among all conservative Christians who interpret the Scriptures literally), but that his wrath begins with the opening of the seventieth week and the opening of the first seal. No matter how sincerely pretribulationalism is taught and believed, it unintentionally plays into the hands of Satan by giving the church a false sense of security from end-time affliction. It teaches that the church will be a "heavenly onlooker" to that time of tribulation, whereas in truth, God has ordained that His Church will very much be an earthly participant. The persecution of the church will be a prior condition to the wrath of God as we will see in 2 Thes. 1:4-8.
There are a number of reasons, all of them biblical and logically sound, that show why the entire seventieth week cannot be equated with the day of the Lord. Although the day of the Lord does begin sometime during the second half of the seventieth week at the opening of the seventh seal:
First, although some of the events depicted in the second, third and fourth seals are used in the O.T. to describe the wrath of God, nowhere in Scripture are the first four seal of Revelation referred to as manifestations of His wrath during the day of the Lord. Careful study of the Hebrew words translated "wrath" in the O.T. clearly indicates that the strong Hebrew word explicitly used in connection with God's day-of-the-Lord wrath against the nations is not the same Hebrew word used in relation to God's chastisement of Israel through natural disasters.
Four different Hebrew words are translated wrath or anger. CHEMA (#2534) canotes hot displeasure or indignation. CHARON (#2740) means heat or burning anger. QETSEPH (#7110) simply carries the idea of wrath or indignation. EBRAH (#5678), on the other hand, is by far the strongest of those terms and refers to the overflowing fury of God. It is only this term that is specifically used of God's day-of-the-Lord wrath, and its context is always the nations, not Israel. Zephaniah 1:14,15,18, uses EBRAH of God's judgmental wrath, but the target of the wrath are the inhabitants of the earth at large, not the nation of Israel. Ezekiel 14:19-21, is perhaps the most often used passage to support the idea that the first four seals involve God's wrath during the day of the Lord, uses the milder term CHEMAH. God's wrath is here focused on Israel, but this Hebrew term carries the idea of severe discipline but not condemning wrath. Another milder form QETSEPH is used in Numbers 16:46 and 2 Chron. 29:8,9. The third mild form CHARON is used only in Ezekiel 7:14. Here it is associated with God's discipline of Israel by Babylon, by use of sword, plague and famine. Again no mention of false messiahs. The strong Hebrew word EBRAH is used in Ezekiel 38:19-22. This passage is certainly a reference to God's wrath during the day of the Lord. But like in Zephaniah 1:14-18, the use of EBRAH in the Ezekiel 38, context refers to the wrath of God against the nations who have come against Israel in the last days (v.16), just before His wrath is poured out, not the entire seventieth week, making absolutely no reference to false messiahs, famines, plagues, or the persecution of God's own elect which embody the general focus of the first five seals.
Second, God's wrath is not spoken of in Revelation until after the sixth seal is broken and the great cosmic disturbances are displayed as the sign of the end of the age (see Matt. 24:3,29) --this sign being the event which God has told His people will announce the beginning of the day of the Lord. After the sixth seal is broken we are told that the "wrath of the Lamb" (Christ) is about to commence (Rev, 6:15-17). When the seventh seal is broken, initiating the wrath of God, His angelic reapers will directly administer His wrath; and Revelation records that indeed it is the angels who carry out the trumpet and bowl judgments, exactly as explained by Christ in the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:30,39).
Third, it is clear that Christ associates the activities of the first seal with false christs (Matt.24:5). If the four horsemen are instrument's of God's wrath, then God would be in the unthinkable position of sending "false christs" as His own agents to deceive His own elect! Such a logical contradiction is excluded not only by common sense, but explicitly by Christ Himself. When accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons by the power of Satan, the Lord said, "Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?" (Matt. 12:25,26).
Fourth, if the entire seventieth week is the day of the Lord, the wrath of God would be directly responsible for the fifth-seal martyrdom of the "souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained" (Rev. 6:9). Such a position directly contradicts the divine assurance, that all who believe in Him (not just believers before the seventieth week) have the "hope of salvation [deliverance]."
The word "salvation" in 1 Thes 5:9, is translated from the Greek word SOTERIA (so-tay-ree'-ah); and it means to rescue or deliver. Vine's dictionary says, "S0TERIA" denotes deliverance, preservation, salvation, of the future deliverance of believers at the Parousia of Christ for His saints, a salvation which is the object of their confident hope, e. g., Rom. 13:11; 1 Thes. 5:8, and v. 9, where "salvation" is assured to them, as being deliverance from the wrath of God destined to be executed upon the ungodly at the end of this age (see 1 Thes. 1:10); 2 Thes. 2:13; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5; 2 Pet. 3:15; of the deliverance of the nation of Israel at the second advent of Christ at the time of "the epiphany (or shining forth) of His Parousia" 2 Thes. 2:8; Luke 1:71; Rev. 12:10;
No the fifth seal martyrdom of these faithful saints is not due to the wrath of God, it is a result of wrath that has its roots directly tied to the kingdom of darkness--not God's wrath but Satan's (Rev. 12:12).
Fifth, if the day of the Lord were to begin at the opening of the seventieth week, Antichrist would prevail over the Lord for the majority of those seven years! While God was supposedly venting His wrath upon the earth, Antichrist would be expanding his satanic kingdom. And after Michael's restraint is removed at the midpoint of the week, Satan's minion would have still greater reign over the earth, even to the point of sitting on His throne in God's temple and demanding worship from the world.
If the day of the Lord were to include the entire seventieth week, it would be a mockery of God's omnipotence. Isaiah speaks directly to that issue: For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up-- and it shall be brought low-- The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, If"the Lord alone shall be exalted" in that day, it is an irrational contradiction to believe that during the Lord's own day an unhindered Antichrist will be demanding and receiving the world's worship of himself. I could give you more evidence of the fact that the entire seventieth week is not the day of the Lord but I do not want to belabor the point, the evidence is clear and Scriptural.
It is a contradiction to claim that the entire seventieth week and the day of the Lord are one and the same. This teaching is explicitly refuted by the very words of our Lord, for Christ says: "when you see all these things, recognize that He [Christ] is near, right at the door" (Matt.24:33). In the context of His promise, "these things" refers to all the events up to and including the sign of the end of the age which comes "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (v.29). Therefore the wrath of God cannot occur until after "these things" occur, making it impossible to equate the whole of the seventieth week with the wrath of God. Those, then, that hold to this view in an attempt to keep the church out of the seventieth week are preparing the sheep that they shepherd for the slaughter of Antichrist.
We shall see that Paul in 2 Thessalonians warns that those sitting under that teaching are to "let no one in any way deceive you" (2:23), then Paul goes on to give the timing, (not the exact time) of the day of the Lord, explaining that it will not come until after Antichrist "takes his seat in the temple...."
1 Thes. 5:10, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
The truth here is that death has no control over the believer. It matters not if we are alive or dead we will not miss out on one promise associated with Christ's return.
1 Thes. 5:11, Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
Because you now know that your dead loved ones in Christ, will inherit exactly the same as those who are alive at His return, comfort one another, edify and build up each other.
Paul now concludes this letter with a series of loving exhortations.
1 Thes. 5:12-13, And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.
Though it is the Christian's responsibility to edify each other, he needs additional encouragement and guidance. Therefore God has called and chosen leaders, equipped by the Spirit to work among Christians. They are over believers in the Lord, that does not mean that they are more spiritual, or favored by God, or they are to Lord over God's people. It simply means they are concerned about believers, care for them, and give them help to understand the things of God.
Christians are to submit to pastors, elders, and teachers only if these people are submitted and obedient to God and His Word. You do not have to submit to leaders who operate in the flesh (carnal nature) rather than obeying God's Word. Men of God who are called of God, sent by God, and who obey God are to be highly esteemed by those whom they serve. They are not to be placed on a pedestal and worshipped. It means they are to be respected, prayed for, and cared for by those whom God has placed in their care.
"Esteem them in love for their work's sake". This implies that these spiritual leaders are really working hard as servants of the body, not as lord's over them. If you do this to godly appointed men you will be at peace among yourselves.
1 Thes. 5:14-15, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
This is an exhortation for all the church to heed. All Christians have the responsibility to warn the unruly (including the idle or lazy). The unruly include those people who uphold the doctrines of man or a denomination above the truth of God's word. "Warn" here means more than a rebuke or just telling somebody that they are wrong. It includes the idea of instructing and teaching, believers must help the "unruly" to see they are going in the wrong direction and show them how to get back on the right path (Gal. 6:1).
"Comfort the fainthearted" means to encourage those who are to weak to have any real purpose to overcome discouragement and want to give up. Upholding the weak implies holding on tightly to keep them from drifting away and to keep them in fellowship with the believers, never criticizing them for their weakness, but assuring them that they have the support of the believers and the Lord. Thus the need for patience. This kind of patience will keep believers from holding grudges and from taking revenge or trying to pay back evil with evil. When somebody gives it to you with both barrels, do not repay it with evil. If you harbor unforgivness you will suffer for it, it will eat you out inside and rob you of the joy of the Lord.
1 Thes 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
If you do not forgive you will not be able to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, or give thanks in everything. These things are the mark of individual and collective worship. They ought to be a part of the believer's daily life. If we fail to obey these commands we are being disobedient to God's Word.
Notice it says, "in everything give thanks", not "for" everything give thanks. We are to give thanks in everything for it is the will of God to give Him thanks no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. We give thanks to God for who He is and what He has done. He is worthy of praise no matter if we feel like praising Him or not, so we are to do it. Our praising will lift us above our circumstances and sometimes cause them to turn around.
1 Thes 5:19-22, Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
Do not quench the working of the Spirit in our own life or the lives of others. Do not scorn prophecies even if they are not what you believe. It is possible, however remote you may think it is, that you are wrong and the other is right. Pastors and leaders need especially to obey these commands in order for body ministry to take place. To many pastors today quench (suppress, extinguish) the fire of the Spirit. Some pastors put out the Spirit's fire because they are afraid that somebody will get into the flesh. If you are afraid of the flesh, deal with the ones in the flesh, don't act God and put a halt to the working of the Spirit. If you do, you are operating in the flesh in bringing reproach to the Spirit of God.
1 Thes 5:21,22, Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
The idea is to check out all things with the idea of accepting them if it is in line with God's Word. Once you have searched the scriptures to see if what is being said over the pulpit, or being done as a means of worship, hold fast to what is good and disregard what is no good. If a prophesy is of God it will line up with His Word and it will come to pass. Anything that is not done in faith is evil, abstain from it.
1 Thes 5:23, Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul in his final prayer in this letter Paul is telling us that it is possible for our whole being, spirit, soul, and body to be set apart unto God. We can with the help of God bring our thoughts and our bodies in line with our recreated, born again spirit so that our whole being will be blameless, without fault, pure, and holy at Christ's coming.
1 Thes 5:24-28, He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us. Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
The one who has called you is faithful to do what has been talked about in this letter. To greet the brethren with a holy kiss was an acceptable practice in that day and in the earlier days of Christianity. It is still practiced in some cultures. Holy is the key word here. This letter contains correct doctrine so everybody is to be aware of its contents so as not to miss the message of the Spirit. Paul then closes with a benediction, a common way he ended most of his letters.
First Thessalonians Chapter 4
1 Thessalonians Chapter FOUR.
1 Thes. 4:1-8, Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
Verse 1, Whenever Paul uses the word finally, he does not use it in the sense that we use the word. He says finally then goes on to give four more chapters sometimes. Paul's meaning in using the word finally or furthermore was, in light of what you have just heard, here is an exhortation, and it could be an extended exhortation.
The two verbs, urge and exhort are two very strong verbs, indicating that Paul is very serious in his exhortation. He is not saying this in a harsh manner, but in light of the kind of society in which the Thessalonian believers lived this is to be a serious exhortation. Paul does not use authoritative words because of his position but because of his stewardship and his accountability to God.
Notice his urging and exhorting was by the Lord Jesus Christ as a servant of the King. This is a general exhortation for them to abound more and more and to walk in the vocation to which they have been called. It is a broad exhortation, to walk like a believer. In essence he is saying, "you are doing good, but do more and more." Paul did not want them to think that they have arrived, that they have accomplished, that they had attained the height of spirituality, or that their life is circumspect enough.
If they thought, or if we think like that it creates big problems. We will become satisfied with the spiritual status quo, this will cause stagnation and even backsliding in our Christian walk. We will never reach the spiritual plateau in this earthly body to where we cannot go any higher. We are to grow spiritually until Jesus comes, then we will be exactly as he is.
Verse 2, The secret of progressing in excellence was to continue to follow the instructions, the behavioral standards already made known to them by Paul. These precepts did not originate with Paul, they originated with the Lord Jesus.
Verse 3, The will of God for our lives is our sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, you belong to God. There are three ways this concept is used in the N.T.:
(1) The moment you were saved, the moment you trusted Christ for your salvation, the Bible teaches that you were sanctified or set apart. You were set apart from the world and this world's system.
(2) The Bible also teaches that as we live we are to be progressively set apart, sanctified or more and more conformed to the image of God's Son. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge on Jesus Christ. There is no immediate sanctification whereby we are sanctified and we need no further sanctification. Sanctification is progressive, it takes time because it is based on the maturing process and that is a life long process. We are being conformed to the image of God's Son.
(3) The third way in which you are sanctified is when Jesus returns you will be changed and made like Him, you will be as He is. You will not think wrong thoughts or do wrong things, this is when the sanctification process will be completed.
Then you are to abstain from sexual immorality. See if you are sanctified you are set apart from all that is unclean. Fornication is translated from the Greek word PORNEIA (por-ni'-ah). It means harlotry including adultery and incest and all other sexual sins; figuratively, it means idolatry.
This was not a corrective measure for this Church, for there is no indication that these believers were involved in such sins. It was a preventive measure. I believe the reason for this admonition was because of the culture of their day. It was a very sexual permissive society. Sexual drives were being satisfied outside of the marriage union and it was thought to be okay. Even religion had its male and female prostitutes at the temples and fornicating was considered as a part of the worship of that day. Sexual deviation permeated that society, Paul realizing that, deals with the issue and uses it as a preventive measure in warning the believers. So he tells them that it is God's will for them to be set apart, holy and to abstain from sexual sins.
I would suggest to you that, that statement has to be said today in our churches not only as a preventive measure but also as a corrective measure. I mean, can anyone contest, that we live in a sexual permissive society. Back in those days it was the heathen temples where sexual sin were committed. In our day, it is churches who name the Name of Christ to one degree or another where sexual sins are practiced. We have to be reminded again and again that to participate in such things is an abomination to God and God, who is a consuming fire, sees our every activity.
Figuratively, from the stand point of idolatry, the church is guilty of spiritual adultery. We have put our desires, our feelings, television shows, sports, hunting, fishing, above praying, studying God's Word, and obeying God's Word, that is idolatry. We choose to obey man made rules and regulations, we choose to abide some denomination's doctrine, we choose to believe what the preacher says, above what the Word of God says, that is idolatry, and it is a stench in the nostrils of God. It is time for the church to repent and get back to obeying the Word.
Verse 4, Paul went on to say that for believers, keeping away from immorality involves knowing how to possess your own vessel. Now there is a debate on the part of Bible scholars over the expression "own vessel." Many take "own vessel" to mean "own wife", saying that you are to possess your own wife in sanctification and honor. This view emphasizes that the purpose of marriage is greater then sexual indulgence. Unbridled lustful passion that treated the wife as mere sex objects characterized many heathen marriages. A marriage that does not show respect and honor for the wife is not likely to help a person avoid immorality.
The Greek word for "possess" is KTAOMAI (ktah'-om-ahee); "to procure for oneself, acquire, obtain," hence, "to possess" has this meaning in (Luke 18:12) and (1 Thes. 4:4); in (Luke 21:19,) RV, "ye shall win" (KJV, "possess ye"), where the probable meaning is "ye shall gain the mastery over your souls," i. e., instead of giving way to adverse circumstances. The Greek in this verse is not conclusive. "Possess" is often used of acquiring something and could be used for acquiring a wife. However, the Bible declaration is that in fornication which means any sexual immorality the sin is against one's own body (1 Cor. 6:18). This would seem to favor taking "vessel" here to mean one's own "body."
Verse 5, Our vessels must be kept in honor, not in lustful passion in the manner of Gentile pagans who did not know God. What Paul is saying is, if one really knows God he will learn to gain control of his vessel in such a way as to maintain its dedication to God.
I would like to add here that sexual immorality begins in the mind. What is worked out in the body is a manifestation of what a person is thinking about. This is why it is so important to cast down every vain imagination that sets itself up against God. You may not be able to control all the thoughts that come to your mind, but you can control; what thoughts will stay in your mind for you to dwell on. If a thought comes to you that is not wholesome or godly, use the authority that is yours in Christ Jesus and cast it out of your mind. If you will do this, you will not be subject to sexual immorality.
Verse 6, No one should take advantage or defraud his brother in this matter. Do you know that you defraud in premarital sex. You defraud the woman that you will eventually marry, you defraud the young lady out of her virginity, you defraud the man that young woman marries. Adultery defrauds the marriage partner.
Homosexuality cheats one out of the kind of relationship that God intended from the beginning (Matt. 19:4-5). It is impossible to participate in these things without harming other people and damaging your relationship with God. Understand that God is the avenger. The Greek word for avenger is EKDIKOS (ek'-dik-os); it means that God is the one who will carry out justice in this matter, i.e. a punisher.
Paul then goes on to say that, they know this because they were forewarned and told about it before. Christians today, have been forewarned and told about it through the Word, so we all stand here without any excuse to get involved in immorality. If we are guilty we need to repent and go on in God. We will have to live with the consequences because we reap what we sow, but we do not have to carry a load of guilt.
Verse 7, God did not call us to a life of immorality but to one of personal purity and holiness. Holiness will bring a person into conformity with the will of God.
Verse 8, Those back there who reject the instructions on sanctification and purity, those today who reject the Word of God on the same matter are rejecting God! To disregard Paul's admonition here is to stand squarely against the Holy Spirit. As a believer we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are warned against defiling His temple. If you become involved in sexual immorality you sin against the purity that the Spirit desires. God will punish church members who disregard moral purity for the satisfaction of their own lusts. People will be judged for not obeying the gospel.
1 Thes. 4:9-12, But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
Verse 9, When it comes to brotherly love, Paul says there is no need for him to write about it. Paul did not want the Thessalonians to think his mention of brotherly love suggested any lack of it on their part. They were divinely instructed in this matter. They understood and practiced brotherly love. Paul was saying that he did not have to give a discourse on or remind them of this issue because they understood it.
Brotherly love will help Christians in their battle against immorality. The first word love in this verse is the Greek word PHILADELPHI (fil-ad-el-fee'-ah); it refers to love between brothers, it is a pure natural love, it means fraternal affection. It implies affection, kindness, and consideration for one another.
The second love in this verse is the Greek word AGAPAO (ag-ap-ah'- o); this is the God kind of love, it is a selfless love, it is a love that loves when a person does not deserve it. This is the kind of love they were taught by God. Paul is saying, because they understood the God kind of love they do not need to be schooled in brotherly love, because if they are demonstrating the God kind of love they cannot help but demonstrate brotherly love. God wants to make believers channels of His love toward all people, by Christians showing their love towards their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Verse 10, These people did not limit their love to members of their own group. They expressed their love to all believers in the country. They did not pick out those who were nice to them, who agreed with them, who were like them, nor did they limit their love to those of their denomination. God shows no partiality, no respect of persons in His love. Neither did they. But Paul urged them to increase more and more in their love.
We will never reach a point in the here and now to where we have all the love of God there is to receive, therefore, there is always room for us to increase the output of God's love from our lives. We are being (present progressive) conformed to the image of His Son, this being will continue until we are made completely like Him at His coming.
Verse 11, the word "aspire" here means to labor, study, strive to lead a quiet life and mind their own business. That by the way does not mean to zipper your lips and don't question anything. It means that Christians must be careful, that love and concern for others don't turn them into spiritual busybodies, always poking their noses into other people's business.
Paul asked the believers to do three things to balance their outgoing love:
First, they were to make it their aim to live a quiet life, Christians are not to try to be spectacular or flamboyant. They are not to seek to be the center of attention, demanding that the spotlight be focused on them. They are to let God do the promoting and the lifting up as they exalt and lift up Christ.
Second, they are to busy themselves with their own affairs, minding their own business, taking care of their own homes. This will give them enough to do without meddling and trying to run other people's lives.
Third, believers are to work with their own hands. The reason for this admonition will be developed more fully in 2 Thes. 3:10-12, where it says, For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. It is apparent that Paul had heard of this problem when he wrote his first letter and he picks it up again in his second letter to them.
Verse 12, The reason for working with their own hands was so they could walk honestly (behave decently) toward outsiders (non-believers). The able-bodied Christian is not to depend on others to support him and his family. Nor is he to expect a continual supernatural supply just because he is to lazy to get out and work. By his own labors is he to have no lack of anything he really needs.
One of the concerns of the church in Thessalonica was: Paul had taught them that Jesus was coming again and that God would be triumphant and judge the wicked who were persecuting them. He also taught them about a great and glorious day that is ahead that they would participate in. Great and wonderful theology. But, after only a short time with them, Paul is forced to leave the area. It has only been a few months since he left the church. In this short time since Paul left, it is evident that some people died. This causes a deep concern for these people about what happens to those who has died in Christ. They may have said, "Paul you told us that Jesus was coming back again, you told us that we were going to be with Him, you told us that we would be with Him forever. Oh wonderful, we are to await His coming and be active until He comes. But, Paul some of us have died, what happens to them?"
They were very concerned about loved ones who had died. That is the background for the teaching in verse 13 and following. You must understand the problem. They were living with the expectation of Christ's return to the point that some of them were not even working (we will develop that thought further a little later). Some people packed it all in, they said, "the Lord is coming back, what is the use to work, let's go to the mountain and await His return." That was the atmosphere, but they were wondering what happens to the ones who had died. So Paul begins to deal with that.
1 Thes, 4:13, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
When Paul uses the word "ignorant" what does he mean. Does he mean obnoxious behavior? No. The word "ignorant" is translated from the Greek word AGNOEO (ag-no-eh'-o); it means not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by implication, to ignore (through disinclination): not know, not understand, unknown because you have not been informed about it.
Every time Paul says, "I would not have you to be ignorant," what do you think they were? Ignorant, now he does not mean dumb, he means they were thinking wrongly about that particular issue. The Thessalonians were ignorant (thinking wrongly) about those of their family, their loved ones and those who are members of the church who had died in Christ.
The Thessalonians were from a Greek background where, according to Greek mythology, they supposed the dead went down into the dark underworld from which there was no return. These believers apparently felt that those who died before the return of Jesus would miss all the blessings and benefits of that event. They felt that those who were alive at Christ's return were in some way advantaged over the believing dead. This false understanding which stemmed from false teaching needed to be corrected.
If this teaching were not corrected it would bring sorrow to the believers who remained alive, even as one sorrows who has no hope. "Sorrow" here, means distress, hurt feelings, and mental anguish. In this kind of sorrow they were coming very close to the black despair and empty hopelessness reflected on the tombstones of the heathen of the time. Paul wanted them to know the truth so it would keep them from that kind of grief.
Christians are not like others (the unsaved) who have no hope. This does not mean that we are forbidden to mourn our loss, but we are not to sorrow at all as those who look upon death as an annihilation and have no hope of the resurrection. Death has no sting for the Christian. What is the Christian's hope referred to here? The fact that when Jesus returns, their dead believing loved ones would be resurrected, united with them, and both would be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
The dead believers would not miss out on the benefits of Christ's return. Listen folks, one of the most negative witnesses to the power of the gospel is the way some Christians respond to the death of a love one. One thing that the bereaved person should portray in that situation is the hope of the resurrection.
Yes we grieve over the physical loss, but if we keep our mind and focus on that, we play right into the devil's hands and we fall apart. This causes us to react as the world acts, losing all sight of the hope that when Jesus comes our love ones will be resurrected. Many of us need to let the power of the Holy Spirit comfort us as we allow Him to do is work through us. The death of a believer is a home going, we can be sad because we have lost a loved one that we can no longer enjoy or interact with as we did in the past and because of the loneliness that we feel. But we ought to rejoice in the gain that loved one now experiences.
1 Thes. 4:14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
The word "if" does not imply any speculation or question as to that belief. In the Greek language it is a "first class" conditional clause and would be more properly translated as since. The meaning is, "if we believe" and "we do," there is absolutely no doubt implied here at all. Paul knew that these people knew that the death and resurrection of Christ was an absolute recognized truth and an established fact, therefore he did not have to demonstrate it, he just used a conditional clause.
As it is an established fact that Jesus died and rose again, it is an established fact that when Jesus comes He will bring those saints that have died and the graves will burst asunder as He raises them from the dead, what a day of rejoicing that will be.
1 Thes. 4:15, For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
"By the word of the Lord," there are two explanations as to what this means:
(1) Some expositors believe that this may have been an expression of Jesus that he taught in his teachings.
(2) Others believe that it may have been a special revelation given by Jesus to Paul. In any case, what is to follow is a direct word from the Lord through Paul and not just Paul's subjective opinion.
Paul made it clear that those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede (get ahead of, have any advantage over) those who died with their faith in Jesus. Why does Paul say, "alive and remain?" It almost seems redundant to use the word remain with the word alive, because if you are alive you do remain. If all that Paul wanted to get across was the fact that the living will not have any advantage over the dead in Christ at His coming, he could have left out the word remain and just said, "those who are alive until Christ comes will not precede those who are dead in Christ."
The word remain is translated from the Greek word PERILEIPO (per- ee-li'-po); this word conveys the idea of survival. It means according to Strong's # 4035, be left behind, remain, stay, survive. So it carries the idea of those who are alive and have survived. Survived what? The difficult days of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. I mean you can even see our English word peril in the Greek word for remain. There are going to be martyrs who did not survive the tribulation but some will survive. This is why God says in Matt. 24:22, that He will cut the Great Tribulation short for the elect's sake, if He didn't no believing flesh would survive. In fact the word remain in the ASV is replaced with the words "are left," left alive after the tribulation is cut short.
If you will notice, the word "and" preceding remain is italicized, indicating that the word is supplied in the English but it is not in the original language. The only Greek connecting term here is HOI, the definite article (the), which places the two verbs in apposition (the second word added to the first for matter of explanation). The text, therefore literally reads, "the living, the remaining" or "the surviving." Therefore without straining the Greek text, it is clear that the Church will go through the great tribulation (Satan's wrath), but will be taken out from within the great tribulation when God cuts it short for the elect's sake, immediately before the wrath of God begins.
1 Thes. 4:16, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
The Lord Himself, not an archangel, not someone who represents Him, this event is to personal, He is to loving toward us to have someone else do this job. Listen, there is going to be a shout, the trumpet of God will blow, does that sound like a secret rapture to you. I mean the trumpet is going to sound so loud it is going to wake the dead in Christ! Without a doubt all of the living will know when He comes.
Notice there is going to be a shout, the voice of an archangel, and the trump of God. Not very much is written about the significance of the shout, the voice, and the trump. You look in the commentaries and they pass over it rather quickly. I would like to say something that at least you can think about, if you don't concur with me on this then just discard it. But let me at least suggest it to you. The shout here, I believe, is the victors shout, this was the shout that the Captain of the boat gave to the oarsmen. This was the shout that the charioteer gave to his horses in the arena. This was the shout that a commanding officer gave to his troops in the field. This is the victors shout.
Remember that God created man to have rule over the earth, to have dominion. Satan usurped man's right to rule and to reign, now the whole world system lieth in the wicked one. Satan is the god of the world system, he is the god of this age, he is the prince and powers of the air. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve and Satan's usurping of authority, we have death, disease, sickness and sin. At the return of Jesus He will take back authority over the earth and destroy all evil and right all the wrongs and Jesus will reign forever and forever. Therefore the shout of victory!
"The voice of an archangel" what does that mean? Turn with me to Rev 7:1, After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
Here we have four angles who are about, as God's servants to execute judgment on the earth as the Day of the Lord is about to begin. It goes on to say in verses 2 and 3, Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
So as the Lord is coming there will be the voice of an angel. I believe, and I will develop it later, that this is the archangel Michael who has a particular relationship with Israel as it says in the Book of Daniel. Here he is heard crying out, "don't hurt anything until we have sealed the 144,000 on their foreheads. So the Lord comes with a victory shout and the voice of an archangel.
What about the trumpet of God? Contrary to what some interpreters maintain, the "last trumpet" mentioned in that passage cannot refer to the last of the seven trumpet judgments. In the first place, those seven trumpets are all blown by angels (Rev. 8:6; 11:15), not by God Himself. Even more significantly, however, if the "last trumpet" were the last of the trumpet judgments, Christians would obviously have to endure the first six executions of God's wrath, from which we are repeatedly assured deliverance. However, if the "last trumpet" is the last trumpet blown by anyone, it will not be the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11, but rather the trumpet blown initiating the return of Israel from Assyria and Egypt after the seventieth week is complete, just before the millennial kingdom (Isa. 27:12,13).
To have the rapture occur at this time would again completely negate all the promises to the church that she would not undergo the wrath of God, in that this trumpet is blown after the seven trumpets judgments, after the seven bowl judgments, and after the battle of Armageddon. And yet technically speaking, that is the "last trumpet" of end time events preceding the Millennium. However, the text says that this is the "last trumpet" of God!
The only other occasion on which God is said to blow a trumpet was during the Maccabean period in the second century BC, when He came to Israel's defense against the blasphemous and merciless Antiochus Epiphanes. In predicting that deliverance the prophet Zechariah wrote, "Then the LORD will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; they shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; they shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land--"(Zech. 9:14-16). It is remarkable that in both cases the Lord blows the trumpet to announce His direct intervention in order to destroy Antiochus, the foreshadow of Antichrist, or Antichrist Himself in the last days.
Turn to 1 Cor. 15:51-52, Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The thing that has happened which has caused a lot of confusion, is that a lot of bible teachers have associated the last trump in this passage with the seventh trumpet of the book of Revelation.
Traditional post tribulation rapturists consider the seventh trumpet of Rev. 11:15-19 to be "the last trump" and understand it to occur at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel. In their view, since the rapture must occur, according to Paul, at the last trump, and the last trumpet occurs at the end of the tribulation period, the rapture must be post tribulational; that is at the end of the seventieth week. Therefore the church must go through the wrath of God. This of course is not what the Bible teaches.
Mid tribulation rapturists also appeal to the time of the last trump for support of their position. They also believe that the last trump is to be identified as the seventh trumpet. However, unlike post tribulationists, men like J. Oliver Buswell place the blowing of the seventh trumpet at the precise middle of the seventieth week. They therefore conclude, based on their understanding of (1 Cor. 15:51&52) that the rapture will occur in the middle of the tribulation.
Pretribulation rapturists do not make strong appeal to Paul's statement that the rapture will occur before the last trump to support their position. Generally speaking, if they mention 1 Cor. 15 in a rapture discussion, it is brief and without determinative significance. The reason is obvious: If the rapture occurs at the last trump, pretribulation rapturism has no way, exegeticaly, to associate the pre-seventieth week rapture with the last trump of God.
It should be absolutely clear, then, that the trumpet spoken of in 1 Thess. 4:16 is exactly what the text says--namely, the trumpet of God, His second and last personal blowing of a trumpet, which will immediately precede the rapture of His church.
The trumpet is used extensively throughout the Bible. It is used a lot in Jewish rituals at the observance of many of their holidays. The feast of trumpets revolves completely around the concept of the trumpet. Trumpets were used for two primary purposes, speaking broadly, (1) to summon God's people to God's presence, whenever you were going to call a solemn assembly a trumpet would be blown. Now when we say to summon God's people to God's presence, where was the presence of God? In the temple. Remember when Solomon dedicated the temple, the presence of God inhabited the temple. So the people were summoned to God's presence by the blowing of the trumpet. (2) The trumpet was also blown whenever Israel was to go to war under divine direction. You see this in when Joshua goes against Jericho the trumpet was used. Gideon, Nehemiah, you read again and again of the blowing of the trumpet in Zion. You will read of the trumpets in Numbers chapter ten.
Jesus is coming, with a shout (the victor is coming), with the voice of an archangel (put the seal on the 144,000 for their protection before the wrath is poured out), and with the trump of God (to start the outpouring of His wrath after the church has been raptured).
1 Thes. 4:17, Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
When Christ comes back with His saints (angels and the ones who are in His presence due to death), He raises the dead, then those who are alive and remain (the survivors of the tribulation period) will be caught up (raptured) together with the raised dead to meet the Lord in the air.
Some people say we should not use the word "rapture" because it is not in the Bible. The Greek word translated "caught up" is HARPAZO (har-pad'-zo); and it means to catch away or catch up. This Greek word was translated into Latin by raptus. From this comes our English word rapture. Thus it is perfectly reasonable to use the word rapture when referring to the snatching away of the Church.
1 Thes. 4:18, Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The comfort that Paul is talking about here is not the fact that when the tribulation enters the church will be gone. Keep in mind that the thing that was making them uncomfortable is that they thought their loved ones who had died would miss out on the blessedness of Christ's return. They did not know what would happen to those who had died in Christ. The words that were to comfort those who had lost loved ones were, "when Christ comes those who died in Christ will be raised and both the living and the raised dead will go to be with Christ and participate in the glorious reign of Christ." The comfort was to the bereaved, not that they were going to escape the tribulation.
1 Thes. 4:1-8, Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
Verse 1, Whenever Paul uses the word finally, he does not use it in the sense that we use the word. He says finally then goes on to give four more chapters sometimes. Paul's meaning in using the word finally or furthermore was, in light of what you have just heard, here is an exhortation, and it could be an extended exhortation.
The two verbs, urge and exhort are two very strong verbs, indicating that Paul is very serious in his exhortation. He is not saying this in a harsh manner, but in light of the kind of society in which the Thessalonian believers lived this is to be a serious exhortation. Paul does not use authoritative words because of his position but because of his stewardship and his accountability to God.
Notice his urging and exhorting was by the Lord Jesus Christ as a servant of the King. This is a general exhortation for them to abound more and more and to walk in the vocation to which they have been called. It is a broad exhortation, to walk like a believer. In essence he is saying, "you are doing good, but do more and more." Paul did not want them to think that they have arrived, that they have accomplished, that they had attained the height of spirituality, or that their life is circumspect enough.
If they thought, or if we think like that it creates big problems. We will become satisfied with the spiritual status quo, this will cause stagnation and even backsliding in our Christian walk. We will never reach the spiritual plateau in this earthly body to where we cannot go any higher. We are to grow spiritually until Jesus comes, then we will be exactly as he is.
Verse 2, The secret of progressing in excellence was to continue to follow the instructions, the behavioral standards already made known to them by Paul. These precepts did not originate with Paul, they originated with the Lord Jesus.
Verse 3, The will of God for our lives is our sanctification. Sanctification means to be set apart. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, you belong to God. There are three ways this concept is used in the N.T.:
(1) The moment you were saved, the moment you trusted Christ for your salvation, the Bible teaches that you were sanctified or set apart. You were set apart from the world and this world's system.
(2) The Bible also teaches that as we live we are to be progressively set apart, sanctified or more and more conformed to the image of God's Son. We are to grow in grace and in the knowledge on Jesus Christ. There is no immediate sanctification whereby we are sanctified and we need no further sanctification. Sanctification is progressive, it takes time because it is based on the maturing process and that is a life long process. We are being conformed to the image of God's Son.
(3) The third way in which you are sanctified is when Jesus returns you will be changed and made like Him, you will be as He is. You will not think wrong thoughts or do wrong things, this is when the sanctification process will be completed.
Then you are to abstain from sexual immorality. See if you are sanctified you are set apart from all that is unclean. Fornication is translated from the Greek word PORNEIA (por-ni'-ah). It means harlotry including adultery and incest and all other sexual sins; figuratively, it means idolatry.
This was not a corrective measure for this Church, for there is no indication that these believers were involved in such sins. It was a preventive measure. I believe the reason for this admonition was because of the culture of their day. It was a very sexual permissive society. Sexual drives were being satisfied outside of the marriage union and it was thought to be okay. Even religion had its male and female prostitutes at the temples and fornicating was considered as a part of the worship of that day. Sexual deviation permeated that society, Paul realizing that, deals with the issue and uses it as a preventive measure in warning the believers. So he tells them that it is God's will for them to be set apart, holy and to abstain from sexual sins.
I would suggest to you that, that statement has to be said today in our churches not only as a preventive measure but also as a corrective measure. I mean, can anyone contest, that we live in a sexual permissive society. Back in those days it was the heathen temples where sexual sin were committed. In our day, it is churches who name the Name of Christ to one degree or another where sexual sins are practiced. We have to be reminded again and again that to participate in such things is an abomination to God and God, who is a consuming fire, sees our every activity.
Figuratively, from the stand point of idolatry, the church is guilty of spiritual adultery. We have put our desires, our feelings, television shows, sports, hunting, fishing, above praying, studying God's Word, and obeying God's Word, that is idolatry. We choose to obey man made rules and regulations, we choose to abide some denomination's doctrine, we choose to believe what the preacher says, above what the Word of God says, that is idolatry, and it is a stench in the nostrils of God. It is time for the church to repent and get back to obeying the Word.
Verse 4, Paul went on to say that for believers, keeping away from immorality involves knowing how to possess your own vessel. Now there is a debate on the part of Bible scholars over the expression "own vessel." Many take "own vessel" to mean "own wife", saying that you are to possess your own wife in sanctification and honor. This view emphasizes that the purpose of marriage is greater then sexual indulgence. Unbridled lustful passion that treated the wife as mere sex objects characterized many heathen marriages. A marriage that does not show respect and honor for the wife is not likely to help a person avoid immorality.
The Greek word for "possess" is KTAOMAI (ktah'-om-ahee); "to procure for oneself, acquire, obtain," hence, "to possess" has this meaning in (Luke 18:12) and (1 Thes. 4:4); in (Luke 21:19,) RV, "ye shall win" (KJV, "possess ye"), where the probable meaning is "ye shall gain the mastery over your souls," i. e., instead of giving way to adverse circumstances. The Greek in this verse is not conclusive. "Possess" is often used of acquiring something and could be used for acquiring a wife. However, the Bible declaration is that in fornication which means any sexual immorality the sin is against one's own body (1 Cor. 6:18). This would seem to favor taking "vessel" here to mean one's own "body."
Verse 5, Our vessels must be kept in honor, not in lustful passion in the manner of Gentile pagans who did not know God. What Paul is saying is, if one really knows God he will learn to gain control of his vessel in such a way as to maintain its dedication to God.
I would like to add here that sexual immorality begins in the mind. What is worked out in the body is a manifestation of what a person is thinking about. This is why it is so important to cast down every vain imagination that sets itself up against God. You may not be able to control all the thoughts that come to your mind, but you can control; what thoughts will stay in your mind for you to dwell on. If a thought comes to you that is not wholesome or godly, use the authority that is yours in Christ Jesus and cast it out of your mind. If you will do this, you will not be subject to sexual immorality.
Verse 6, No one should take advantage or defraud his brother in this matter. Do you know that you defraud in premarital sex. You defraud the woman that you will eventually marry, you defraud the young lady out of her virginity, you defraud the man that young woman marries. Adultery defrauds the marriage partner.
Homosexuality cheats one out of the kind of relationship that God intended from the beginning (Matt. 19:4-5). It is impossible to participate in these things without harming other people and damaging your relationship with God. Understand that God is the avenger. The Greek word for avenger is EKDIKOS (ek'-dik-os); it means that God is the one who will carry out justice in this matter, i.e. a punisher.
Paul then goes on to say that, they know this because they were forewarned and told about it before. Christians today, have been forewarned and told about it through the Word, so we all stand here without any excuse to get involved in immorality. If we are guilty we need to repent and go on in God. We will have to live with the consequences because we reap what we sow, but we do not have to carry a load of guilt.
Verse 7, God did not call us to a life of immorality but to one of personal purity and holiness. Holiness will bring a person into conformity with the will of God.
Verse 8, Those back there who reject the instructions on sanctification and purity, those today who reject the Word of God on the same matter are rejecting God! To disregard Paul's admonition here is to stand squarely against the Holy Spirit. As a believer we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are warned against defiling His temple. If you become involved in sexual immorality you sin against the purity that the Spirit desires. God will punish church members who disregard moral purity for the satisfaction of their own lusts. People will be judged for not obeying the gospel.
1 Thes. 4:9-12, But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
Verse 9, When it comes to brotherly love, Paul says there is no need for him to write about it. Paul did not want the Thessalonians to think his mention of brotherly love suggested any lack of it on their part. They were divinely instructed in this matter. They understood and practiced brotherly love. Paul was saying that he did not have to give a discourse on or remind them of this issue because they understood it.
Brotherly love will help Christians in their battle against immorality. The first word love in this verse is the Greek word PHILADELPHI (fil-ad-el-fee'-ah); it refers to love between brothers, it is a pure natural love, it means fraternal affection. It implies affection, kindness, and consideration for one another.
The second love in this verse is the Greek word AGAPAO (ag-ap-ah'- o); this is the God kind of love, it is a selfless love, it is a love that loves when a person does not deserve it. This is the kind of love they were taught by God. Paul is saying, because they understood the God kind of love they do not need to be schooled in brotherly love, because if they are demonstrating the God kind of love they cannot help but demonstrate brotherly love. God wants to make believers channels of His love toward all people, by Christians showing their love towards their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Verse 10, These people did not limit their love to members of their own group. They expressed their love to all believers in the country. They did not pick out those who were nice to them, who agreed with them, who were like them, nor did they limit their love to those of their denomination. God shows no partiality, no respect of persons in His love. Neither did they. But Paul urged them to increase more and more in their love.
We will never reach a point in the here and now to where we have all the love of God there is to receive, therefore, there is always room for us to increase the output of God's love from our lives. We are being (present progressive) conformed to the image of His Son, this being will continue until we are made completely like Him at His coming.
Verse 11, the word "aspire" here means to labor, study, strive to lead a quiet life and mind their own business. That by the way does not mean to zipper your lips and don't question anything. It means that Christians must be careful, that love and concern for others don't turn them into spiritual busybodies, always poking their noses into other people's business.
Paul asked the believers to do three things to balance their outgoing love:
First, they were to make it their aim to live a quiet life, Christians are not to try to be spectacular or flamboyant. They are not to seek to be the center of attention, demanding that the spotlight be focused on them. They are to let God do the promoting and the lifting up as they exalt and lift up Christ.
Second, they are to busy themselves with their own affairs, minding their own business, taking care of their own homes. This will give them enough to do without meddling and trying to run other people's lives.
Third, believers are to work with their own hands. The reason for this admonition will be developed more fully in 2 Thes. 3:10-12, where it says, For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. It is apparent that Paul had heard of this problem when he wrote his first letter and he picks it up again in his second letter to them.
Verse 12, The reason for working with their own hands was so they could walk honestly (behave decently) toward outsiders (non-believers). The able-bodied Christian is not to depend on others to support him and his family. Nor is he to expect a continual supernatural supply just because he is to lazy to get out and work. By his own labors is he to have no lack of anything he really needs.
One of the concerns of the church in Thessalonica was: Paul had taught them that Jesus was coming again and that God would be triumphant and judge the wicked who were persecuting them. He also taught them about a great and glorious day that is ahead that they would participate in. Great and wonderful theology. But, after only a short time with them, Paul is forced to leave the area. It has only been a few months since he left the church. In this short time since Paul left, it is evident that some people died. This causes a deep concern for these people about what happens to those who has died in Christ. They may have said, "Paul you told us that Jesus was coming back again, you told us that we were going to be with Him, you told us that we would be with Him forever. Oh wonderful, we are to await His coming and be active until He comes. But, Paul some of us have died, what happens to them?"
They were very concerned about loved ones who had died. That is the background for the teaching in verse 13 and following. You must understand the problem. They were living with the expectation of Christ's return to the point that some of them were not even working (we will develop that thought further a little later). Some people packed it all in, they said, "the Lord is coming back, what is the use to work, let's go to the mountain and await His return." That was the atmosphere, but they were wondering what happens to the ones who had died. So Paul begins to deal with that.
1 Thes, 4:13, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
When Paul uses the word "ignorant" what does he mean. Does he mean obnoxious behavior? No. The word "ignorant" is translated from the Greek word AGNOEO (ag-no-eh'-o); it means not to know (through lack of information or intelligence); by implication, to ignore (through disinclination): not know, not understand, unknown because you have not been informed about it.
Every time Paul says, "I would not have you to be ignorant," what do you think they were? Ignorant, now he does not mean dumb, he means they were thinking wrongly about that particular issue. The Thessalonians were ignorant (thinking wrongly) about those of their family, their loved ones and those who are members of the church who had died in Christ.
The Thessalonians were from a Greek background where, according to Greek mythology, they supposed the dead went down into the dark underworld from which there was no return. These believers apparently felt that those who died before the return of Jesus would miss all the blessings and benefits of that event. They felt that those who were alive at Christ's return were in some way advantaged over the believing dead. This false understanding which stemmed from false teaching needed to be corrected.
If this teaching were not corrected it would bring sorrow to the believers who remained alive, even as one sorrows who has no hope. "Sorrow" here, means distress, hurt feelings, and mental anguish. In this kind of sorrow they were coming very close to the black despair and empty hopelessness reflected on the tombstones of the heathen of the time. Paul wanted them to know the truth so it would keep them from that kind of grief.
Christians are not like others (the unsaved) who have no hope. This does not mean that we are forbidden to mourn our loss, but we are not to sorrow at all as those who look upon death as an annihilation and have no hope of the resurrection. Death has no sting for the Christian. What is the Christian's hope referred to here? The fact that when Jesus returns, their dead believing loved ones would be resurrected, united with them, and both would be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
The dead believers would not miss out on the benefits of Christ's return. Listen folks, one of the most negative witnesses to the power of the gospel is the way some Christians respond to the death of a love one. One thing that the bereaved person should portray in that situation is the hope of the resurrection.
Yes we grieve over the physical loss, but if we keep our mind and focus on that, we play right into the devil's hands and we fall apart. This causes us to react as the world acts, losing all sight of the hope that when Jesus comes our love ones will be resurrected. Many of us need to let the power of the Holy Spirit comfort us as we allow Him to do is work through us. The death of a believer is a home going, we can be sad because we have lost a loved one that we can no longer enjoy or interact with as we did in the past and because of the loneliness that we feel. But we ought to rejoice in the gain that loved one now experiences.
1 Thes. 4:14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
The word "if" does not imply any speculation or question as to that belief. In the Greek language it is a "first class" conditional clause and would be more properly translated as since. The meaning is, "if we believe" and "we do," there is absolutely no doubt implied here at all. Paul knew that these people knew that the death and resurrection of Christ was an absolute recognized truth and an established fact, therefore he did not have to demonstrate it, he just used a conditional clause.
As it is an established fact that Jesus died and rose again, it is an established fact that when Jesus comes He will bring those saints that have died and the graves will burst asunder as He raises them from the dead, what a day of rejoicing that will be.
1 Thes. 4:15, For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
"By the word of the Lord," there are two explanations as to what this means:
(1) Some expositors believe that this may have been an expression of Jesus that he taught in his teachings.
(2) Others believe that it may have been a special revelation given by Jesus to Paul. In any case, what is to follow is a direct word from the Lord through Paul and not just Paul's subjective opinion.
Paul made it clear that those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede (get ahead of, have any advantage over) those who died with their faith in Jesus. Why does Paul say, "alive and remain?" It almost seems redundant to use the word remain with the word alive, because if you are alive you do remain. If all that Paul wanted to get across was the fact that the living will not have any advantage over the dead in Christ at His coming, he could have left out the word remain and just said, "those who are alive until Christ comes will not precede those who are dead in Christ."
The word remain is translated from the Greek word PERILEIPO (per- ee-li'-po); this word conveys the idea of survival. It means according to Strong's # 4035, be left behind, remain, stay, survive. So it carries the idea of those who are alive and have survived. Survived what? The difficult days of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. I mean you can even see our English word peril in the Greek word for remain. There are going to be martyrs who did not survive the tribulation but some will survive. This is why God says in Matt. 24:22, that He will cut the Great Tribulation short for the elect's sake, if He didn't no believing flesh would survive. In fact the word remain in the ASV is replaced with the words "are left," left alive after the tribulation is cut short.
If you will notice, the word "and" preceding remain is italicized, indicating that the word is supplied in the English but it is not in the original language. The only Greek connecting term here is HOI, the definite article (the), which places the two verbs in apposition (the second word added to the first for matter of explanation). The text, therefore literally reads, "the living, the remaining" or "the surviving." Therefore without straining the Greek text, it is clear that the Church will go through the great tribulation (Satan's wrath), but will be taken out from within the great tribulation when God cuts it short for the elect's sake, immediately before the wrath of God begins.
1 Thes. 4:16, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
The Lord Himself, not an archangel, not someone who represents Him, this event is to personal, He is to loving toward us to have someone else do this job. Listen, there is going to be a shout, the trumpet of God will blow, does that sound like a secret rapture to you. I mean the trumpet is going to sound so loud it is going to wake the dead in Christ! Without a doubt all of the living will know when He comes.
Notice there is going to be a shout, the voice of an archangel, and the trump of God. Not very much is written about the significance of the shout, the voice, and the trump. You look in the commentaries and they pass over it rather quickly. I would like to say something that at least you can think about, if you don't concur with me on this then just discard it. But let me at least suggest it to you. The shout here, I believe, is the victors shout, this was the shout that the Captain of the boat gave to the oarsmen. This was the shout that the charioteer gave to his horses in the arena. This was the shout that a commanding officer gave to his troops in the field. This is the victors shout.
Remember that God created man to have rule over the earth, to have dominion. Satan usurped man's right to rule and to reign, now the whole world system lieth in the wicked one. Satan is the god of the world system, he is the god of this age, he is the prince and powers of the air. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve and Satan's usurping of authority, we have death, disease, sickness and sin. At the return of Jesus He will take back authority over the earth and destroy all evil and right all the wrongs and Jesus will reign forever and forever. Therefore the shout of victory!
"The voice of an archangel" what does that mean? Turn with me to Rev 7:1, After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree.
Here we have four angles who are about, as God's servants to execute judgment on the earth as the Day of the Lord is about to begin. It goes on to say in verses 2 and 3, Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
So as the Lord is coming there will be the voice of an angel. I believe, and I will develop it later, that this is the archangel Michael who has a particular relationship with Israel as it says in the Book of Daniel. Here he is heard crying out, "don't hurt anything until we have sealed the 144,000 on their foreheads. So the Lord comes with a victory shout and the voice of an archangel.
What about the trumpet of God? Contrary to what some interpreters maintain, the "last trumpet" mentioned in that passage cannot refer to the last of the seven trumpet judgments. In the first place, those seven trumpets are all blown by angels (Rev. 8:6; 11:15), not by God Himself. Even more significantly, however, if the "last trumpet" were the last of the trumpet judgments, Christians would obviously have to endure the first six executions of God's wrath, from which we are repeatedly assured deliverance. However, if the "last trumpet" is the last trumpet blown by anyone, it will not be the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11, but rather the trumpet blown initiating the return of Israel from Assyria and Egypt after the seventieth week is complete, just before the millennial kingdom (Isa. 27:12,13).
To have the rapture occur at this time would again completely negate all the promises to the church that she would not undergo the wrath of God, in that this trumpet is blown after the seven trumpets judgments, after the seven bowl judgments, and after the battle of Armageddon. And yet technically speaking, that is the "last trumpet" of end time events preceding the Millennium. However, the text says that this is the "last trumpet" of God!
The only other occasion on which God is said to blow a trumpet was during the Maccabean period in the second century BC, when He came to Israel's defense against the blasphemous and merciless Antiochus Epiphanes. In predicting that deliverance the prophet Zechariah wrote, "Then the LORD will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; they shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; they shall be filled with blood like basins, like the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land--"(Zech. 9:14-16). It is remarkable that in both cases the Lord blows the trumpet to announce His direct intervention in order to destroy Antiochus, the foreshadow of Antichrist, or Antichrist Himself in the last days.
Turn to 1 Cor. 15:51-52, Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The thing that has happened which has caused a lot of confusion, is that a lot of bible teachers have associated the last trump in this passage with the seventh trumpet of the book of Revelation.
Traditional post tribulation rapturists consider the seventh trumpet of Rev. 11:15-19 to be "the last trump" and understand it to occur at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel. In their view, since the rapture must occur, according to Paul, at the last trump, and the last trumpet occurs at the end of the tribulation period, the rapture must be post tribulational; that is at the end of the seventieth week. Therefore the church must go through the wrath of God. This of course is not what the Bible teaches.
Mid tribulation rapturists also appeal to the time of the last trump for support of their position. They also believe that the last trump is to be identified as the seventh trumpet. However, unlike post tribulationists, men like J. Oliver Buswell place the blowing of the seventh trumpet at the precise middle of the seventieth week. They therefore conclude, based on their understanding of (1 Cor. 15:51&52) that the rapture will occur in the middle of the tribulation.
Pretribulation rapturists do not make strong appeal to Paul's statement that the rapture will occur before the last trump to support their position. Generally speaking, if they mention 1 Cor. 15 in a rapture discussion, it is brief and without determinative significance. The reason is obvious: If the rapture occurs at the last trump, pretribulation rapturism has no way, exegeticaly, to associate the pre-seventieth week rapture with the last trump of God.
It should be absolutely clear, then, that the trumpet spoken of in 1 Thess. 4:16 is exactly what the text says--namely, the trumpet of God, His second and last personal blowing of a trumpet, which will immediately precede the rapture of His church.
The trumpet is used extensively throughout the Bible. It is used a lot in Jewish rituals at the observance of many of their holidays. The feast of trumpets revolves completely around the concept of the trumpet. Trumpets were used for two primary purposes, speaking broadly, (1) to summon God's people to God's presence, whenever you were going to call a solemn assembly a trumpet would be blown. Now when we say to summon God's people to God's presence, where was the presence of God? In the temple. Remember when Solomon dedicated the temple, the presence of God inhabited the temple. So the people were summoned to God's presence by the blowing of the trumpet. (2) The trumpet was also blown whenever Israel was to go to war under divine direction. You see this in when Joshua goes against Jericho the trumpet was used. Gideon, Nehemiah, you read again and again of the blowing of the trumpet in Zion. You will read of the trumpets in Numbers chapter ten.
Jesus is coming, with a shout (the victor is coming), with the voice of an archangel (put the seal on the 144,000 for their protection before the wrath is poured out), and with the trump of God (to start the outpouring of His wrath after the church has been raptured).
1 Thes. 4:17, Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
When Christ comes back with His saints (angels and the ones who are in His presence due to death), He raises the dead, then those who are alive and remain (the survivors of the tribulation period) will be caught up (raptured) together with the raised dead to meet the Lord in the air.
Some people say we should not use the word "rapture" because it is not in the Bible. The Greek word translated "caught up" is HARPAZO (har-pad'-zo); and it means to catch away or catch up. This Greek word was translated into Latin by raptus. From this comes our English word rapture. Thus it is perfectly reasonable to use the word rapture when referring to the snatching away of the Church.
1 Thes. 4:18, Therefore comfort one another with these words.
The comfort that Paul is talking about here is not the fact that when the tribulation enters the church will be gone. Keep in mind that the thing that was making them uncomfortable is that they thought their loved ones who had died would miss out on the blessedness of Christ's return. They did not know what would happen to those who had died in Christ. The words that were to comfort those who had lost loved ones were, "when Christ comes those who died in Christ will be raised and both the living and the raised dead will go to be with Christ and participate in the glorious reign of Christ." The comfort was to the bereaved, not that they were going to escape the tribulation.
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