Southern
Christian University
A
Study of I Thessalonians, # 2
James
A. Turner
Please
read all the references. They will help you to get a fuller understanding.
When
we ended the First Class Session, we were studying about the second advent of
Christ as recorded in I Thessalonians 3:13
and 4:13 through 5:11. We were talking
about how Christ will bring the spirits of the righteous dead with him as
recorded in 3:13 and 4:14. I Corinthians 15:50-58
and Philippians 3:20‑21and I John 3:1-2;
compliment I Thessalonians 4:14. I Corinthians 15:50-53
reads, "This
I say brethren that flesh and blood shall not enter into the kingdom of God. 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 trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality." Philippians 3:20‑21,
"For
our citizenship is from heaven; from whence we look for our savior, our Lord
Jesus Christ. Who shall fashion anew the
body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his
glory." I John 3:1-2, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us that we shall be called the children of God. It does not yet appear
what we shall be. But we know that when
he shall appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.” So the Bible
teaches that the righteous will be given glorious bodies likened to the body of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not going
to be raised with old worn out physical and diseased bodies, but will be given
immortal and glorious bodies, likened to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. So
Paul is saying that when Christ comes in His second advent He is going to bring
the spirits of the righteous with him.
In the resurrection, there will be the uniting of the spirit with the
body that is raised.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord
that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord shall in no
wise precede them that are fallen asleep."
Again, some of the commentaries
say that people of the first century believed that the coming of Christ was
imminent, and that even the apostles thought that Christ was to come almost immediately. Well, Paul surely did not. For in chapter two of the next letter, he
tells them not to be excited about the second advent of Christ because he is
not coming until there has been a great falling away. But the fact that he said, "We that are alive,"
they say that he was expecting to be
alive when Christ comes. Not so! In I Corinthians 6:14,
he puts himself with those that will be dead when Christ comes; and in II
Corinthians 4:14 he does likewise.
So how could Paul put himself with those who will be alive when Christ
comes and those who will be dead when Christ comes? Well, in this passage don't you think he is
using the word “we” in the editorial sense? Meaning that the righteous who are
living when Christ comes, they are not going to precede those that are dead in
Christ. "For this we say unto you by the word of
the Lord that we that are alive that are left unto the coming of the Lord shall
in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep." In
other words the living will not go into glory, and they will not receive those
immortal glorious bodies before the dead righteous are raised.
Verse
sixteen,
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump of God: And the dead in Christ shall rise
first." Put this with I Corinthians 15:50-53,
it means that before the living are changed, “in a moment and a twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump,” that the dead righteous
and living righteous will go into heaven at the same time. "Then we that are
alive that are left shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air:
And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
Now,
some preachers try to get two bodily resurrections out of this, on the basis
that the dead in Christ shall rise first.
But in the context it means that the righteous dead will arise with
immortal glorious bodies before the living righteous are changed. Those who
teach the false doctrine of two physical resurrections tie I Thessalonians 4:16
with Revelation 20:5-6. That doctrine is false from beginning to end!
Please read the outline entitled, TWO
GREAT RESURRECTIONS. The Bible does teach concerning two resurrections, but
one is a resurrection in Christ, and the other is a resurrection of all the
dead when Christ comes the second time (Hebrews 9:27-28).
He is not coming three or four times as some teach. The Bible does not teach
two bodily resurrections! It does teach
two resurrections. One is a spiritual
resurrection in Christ, which I tried to emphasize in that outline. Jesus
talked about both of these resurrections in John 5:
24-28. “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my words and believeth him that sent me
hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of
death into life.” (Meaning spiritual
death, separated from God because of sin Isaiah 59:1-2,)
"Verily,
verily, I say unto you. The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God: And
they that hear shall live." Jesus was not talking about a bodily
resurrection.
When
it comes time for that bodily resurrection, there will be no free moral agency
involved in that one, but he is talking about a resurrection in Christ, that
those who hear Christ, they that are dead in their sins shall live a spiritual
life in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 2:13). And then in the same chapter, verses
twenty-eight and twenty-nine, "Marvel not at this: For the hour cometh, when all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." All are going
to hear whether they want to hear or not when that time comes, and they are
going to come forth. “They that have done good to the resurrection
of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.” Daniel 12:2
reads, “And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”. Are not those two references parallels? The Bible
teaches a number of things plainly, and we need to understand what the Bible
teaches. There are some members of the
church who have heard preachers preach and try to get two bodily resurrections,
and they think there will be two bodily resurrections. Not so! The Bible absolutely
does not teach such a doctrine. Again, such doctrine is a man made doctrine and
not God’s doctrine
Please
look at all of 4: 16
again. "The
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the
archangel with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Meaning that
they will rise first before the living are changed. In other words they will be raised and then
the living will be changed. “ Then we that are alive”
And again he is using that "we" in that editorial sense meaning that
those who are alive when Christ comes, "shall together with them be caught up in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord." Well, those
words deny that false doctrine that many premillennial preachers preach.
According to the way most of them spin it, the righteous are going to be called
up and the wicked left on the earth.
Then, according to them, there will be seven years of tribulations on
the earth. And then Christ will take
those saints that have been called up and bring them to earth and reign on
earth for a thousand years on the throne of David. Such is false from beginning to end. Please
read my short outline entitled, CHRIST IS NOW REIGNING ON THE THRONE OF
DAVID.
Chapter
Five
The
Thessalonians knew from Paul’s teaching that the wicked and the righteous are
going to be raised at the same time. “ But concerning the times and the season
brethren, ye have no need that ought to be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (5:1-2). So Paul had taught them about Christ's coming, that he will come as a
thief in the night. No one knows when he
is coming, (Matthew 24:36), but when he comes he will come as a thief in the
night. The devil’s crowd will not be
expecting him! “When
they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” I reckon we can be assured of one thing when we have
fellows like Harold Lindsey talking about the signs are here and Christ is
coming back very soon for that reign. He
is not coming as long as those kinds of fellows are setting their dates. This says that the wicked will be saying, “peace and safety. Then sudden destruction
cometh upon them like a woman ready to give birth to a child." Well, in most
cases that child is going to come when that time comes.
Verse
three "When
they are saying peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, (the unprepared wicked Revelation 6:9-11) but ye, brethren, are
not in darkness, (meaning you are not living in sin) that that day should
overtake you as a thief for you are sons of light, and sons of day, we are not
of night; nor of darkness; (meaning we
are not a part of the devil’s crowd) so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, (those who are earth bound in their thinking and in
their living (Revelations 3:10, 6:9-11, 8:13,
11:10, 13:8, 17:1-2,
17:8; Colossians 3:1-3)
but let us
watch and be sober. For they that sleep,
sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let
us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breast -plate of faith
and love, for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (5:4-8). In this reference Paul
is teaching the same thing that Christ taught during the last week of his
ministry. He taught that God’s children should live every day in a prepared
state (Matthew 24:42-51).
Everyday
Christian living is a continuous process of putting off those things that
pertain to the way of the flesh and putting on those things that will make us
more like God and Christ (I Peter 2:1-2,
2:21-25; Ephesians 4:22-23;
Colossians 3:5-16). Please notice again Paul’s exhortation in 5:9
“putting on
the breastplate of faith and love; (faith
and love constitute great protection from any form of evil) and for a helmet the hope
of salvation.” Please read Hebrews 6:18-20
and Romans 8: 24-25.
“For God appointed us not unto wrath but unto the
obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:9). God does not want any person to be lost! I
Timothy 2:4 reads that God, “would have all men to be saved, and come to the
knowledge of the truth.” II Peter 3:
9 reads, “The
Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some count slackness; but is
longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.” These two
references are saying that God does not want none- Christians to be lost, and
he surely does not want any child of God to be lost and receive God’s wrath at
the end of the way. “Who
died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep (meaning whether we are living or dead when Christ comes to judge all
men ) we
should live together with him.” He wants
us to receive that eternal salvation that I Peter 1:9
speaks of “ receiving the end of your faith, even
the salvation of your souls.” “Wherefore exhort one another, and build each
other up, even as also ye do” (5:11). The
writer is saying that if we are faithful we are going to live together with
Christ in eternity and since this is the case we should exhort and encourage
one another to be faithful. We can do this by always being a good example, and
by proper use of the word of God to exhort and encourage one another.
Now,
I want us to turn and read Matthew 24:29-35
and the parallels in Mark 13:24-31 and Luke 21:25-33.
Some of our finest and best gospel preachers in the last thirty or forty years
have been giving, especially Matthew 24:29-25
as a figurative and symbolic passage referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It looks like they have in part come to
such an interpretation in an effort to show that the premillennial doctrine is
a false doctrine. Well, it surely is false, but we need to be careful and not
let the pendulum swing too far. Now, I have known some of these brethren for
many years and they are just as sincere in their interpretation of these
references as I am, but I very sincerely believe that their interpretation is a
wrong interpretation. Let me say further that it is very doubtful if any of us
will have to have perfect understanding of difficult references like these in
order to receive an entrance into heaven at the end of the way! You can rightly
say, “Why then do we even need to discuss the matter.” My answer is that I
believe they are violating a basis rule of proper interpretation, and that rule
is that we should not count any passage as figurative and symbolic unless there
is something in the context of the passage that makes it very clear that it is
figurative language, or other references on the same subject.
There
are many references that are figurative and should be recognized as such, but
let literal passages be literal! In my judgment there is nothing in these
references that demands a figurative interpretation, and when they are given a
literal meaning as being signs that will accompany the second advent of Christ
they are in harmony with several other references about that event.
Adam
Clark, a great Methodist scholar; published his Commentaries On The Whole Bible
in the early 1800’s. In the main his commentaries are very good, and one of the
very best, if not the best buy you can make if you do not have them.
Clark
came with a figurative interpretation of Matthew 24:29-35
very much like the interpretation that these brethren come with, although they
may not have even read his comments. He says on Matthew 24:29
and I quote, “Commentators generally understand this, and what follows, of the
end of the world and Christ’s coming judgment:
but the word immediately shows that our Lord is not speaking of any
distant event, but of something immediately consequent on calamities already
predicted: and that must be destruction of Jerusalem.” Then he
quotes from Lightfoot, “The Jewish heaven shall perish , and the sun and
moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened- brought to nothing -----. Compare Isaiah 13:10;
Ezekiel 32:7-8.
And
then Clark says, “The fall of Babylon is represented by the stars and constellations of
heaven withdrawing their light, and the sun and moon being darkened. See Isaiah
13:9-10. The destruction of Egypt, by the heaven being covered, the sun enveloped with
a cloud, and the moon withholding her light.”
These
are the same references being used by some brethren as a basis for making
Matthew 24:29 figurative. When you read all of Isaiah 13 it is
very evident that Isaiah is using figurative language to describe God’s “in
time” rather than “end of time” judgment on the nation of Babylon because of her terrible wickedness. So why the use of
such figurative language? The answer is that all such drastic “in time”
judgments on nations like Babylon
and Egypt are a type of eternal judgment when it will be
literal. Verse seven of Jude reads, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about
them, ,having given them over to fornication (various kinds of sexual immoralities) and gone after strange flesh, (homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-11;
Levites 20:13; Romans 1:24-27) are set forth as an
example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.” Jude is
saying that God’s destruction of these cities by fire is a type of eternal
judgment (II Peter. 3:1-11).
If
a figurative interpretation is the right interpretation of Matthew 24:29-35
and Mark 13:24-31 and Luke 21:25-33
why can we not by the same logic make II Peter 3:1-11
a figurative passage? Many could be easily convinced that such would be a
correct interpretation! In my judgment this is the great danger of a figurative
interpretation and why I am so concerned about it. It is not the right
interpretation!
Let
us now turn to Matthew twenty-four and begin the study of these references. As
recorded in Matthew twenty-four and Mark thirteen and Luke twenty-one Jesus
told his disciples Peter, James, John and Andrew (Mark 13:3),
during that last week of his earthly ministry, that the time was coming when
the magnificent temple in Jerusalem would be completely destroyed, “There shall not be left
here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2) Those disciples asked him three questions, “When shall these things
be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world’” (Matthew 24:3).
Now these disciples may have expected all three things to be fulfilled at the
same time, but Jesus knew to the contrary, and he answered the questions in the
order that they asked him. In Matthew 24:5-14
he tells about things that would happen before the destruction of the temple,
and verse fourteen reads, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole
world for a testimony unto the nations; and then shall the end come.” Then
shall the end come is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies in 70 A.D. as shown by 24:15-22.
Matthew
and Mark both say essentially the same thing about that destruction by the
Roman armies. “When
therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through
Daniel the prophet ( in Daniel 9:27, 12:11) standing in the holy
place (Jerusalem) then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains”
(24:15-16).
So Matthew 24:15-21 is very definitely referring to the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It will not do any good for people to run
when Christ comes a second time (Hebrews 9:27-28)
although many may try to escape his wrath at that time (Revelation 1:7;
6:12-17). Notice that
Luke’s account gives the meaning of “abomination of desolation”. He says, “But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies,
then know that her desolation is at hand’ (Luke
21:20). Matthew 24:27
“For as the
lighting cometh forth from the east, and seen even unto the west; so shall be
the coming of the Son of men.” Is this
verse not talking about the second advent of Christ that he will come to the
whole world at the same time (Revelations 1:7)?
Now
let us give attention to the parallels of Matthew 24:29-35,
and Mark 13:24-31 and Luke 21:25-33.
I do not remember hearing, or reading, where one of these preachers that we
have been referring to using all three parallels. It looks like they want to
stay with only Matthew 24:29-35. Adam Clark had a problem with the word immediately
in verse twenty-nine and reasoned that it could not refer to the second advent
of Christ in part on that basis, but notice that Mark says, “But in those days, after
that tribulation (the destruction of
Jerusalem) the
sun shall be darkened, and the moon, shall not give her light, and the stars
shall be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens shall be
shaken” (Mark 13:24).
Please remember that Jesus has already answered their question about the
destruction of Jerusalem and he is now answering their second question
concerning the signs that would accompany his coming. I remember a great man of
God say, “Jesus did not even know when his coming would be (Matthew 24:36)
so how could he know about any signs of his coming?” Well, in the same way that
he knew that it would be like it was in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:
37-39).
Does
Mark 13:24 mean that
Matthew’s use of the word immediately is wrong? Certainly not, but the word
immediately may have reference to the thing that would be most important in
God’s plan and that would be Christ’s second advent and eternal judgment. Would
not such an interpretation be in harmony with (Revelation 6:12-17; II Peter 3:1-11
and Hebrew 1:10-13)?
“And then shall appear the
sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 24:30). Now some like to talk more about the sign of the Son of
man rather than “and they shall see the
Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven”
Did any one see Jesus “Coming
on the clouds of heaven” in the
destruction of Jerusalem? And why, “then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn”? Brother Foy E. Wallace, Jr. in his comments on
Revelations 1:7 said in substance that “all tribes” meant
the Jewish tribes! What message was given to the apostles when Christ ascended
back to heaven? “And
while they (the apostles) were looking steadfastly
into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by in white apparel; who also said,
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking
into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so
come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven” Acts 1:10-11. Jesus
also said to the Jewish Court that condemned him to death, “Hence forth ye shall see
the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on clouds of
heaven” (Matthew 26:64). Was this reference fulfilled in 70 A.D.?
“And he shall send forth his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four
winds, from one of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:31). One of our preachers
in a lecture on a lecture program entitled, Premillennialism True or False said
concerning this verse and I quote, “ The angel means “message” or
“messenger”, and it is our studied conviction that reference is here made to
those teachers and preachers of the gospel who would be involved in getting the
whole gospel to the whole world. The fall of Jerusalem and of the Jewish nation would contribute mightily
(in the power and providence of God) to the spread of the gospel of Christ. The
“great sound
of a trumpet” is the sound of the gospel
of the Christ. God’s only saving power” How strange, how strange, is such an
interpretation of Matthew 24:31! Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in the whole world for a testimony unto the nations; and then shall the end
come” (meaning before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D (Matthew 24:14).
Paul
wrote to the Colossians in about 62-63 A.D. in it he said, “the truth of the gospel,
which is come unto you; even as it is also in the world bearing fruit and
increasing, as it doth in you also” ---(Colossians
1:5-6), and again he exhorted
them not to
“be moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached
in all creation under heaven; where of I Paul was made a minister” (Colossians 1:23). Where is the passage that says that the gospel was
spread more rapidly after 70 A.D.?
We
have studied I Thessalonians 4:16 that
Christ, “shall
descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with
the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first.” I Corinthians 15:52
reads that the living will be changed, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” When Jesus interpreted the parable of the tares of the field Jesus
said, “that
the time of harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels,
--- The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of
his kingdom all that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity;” ----( Matthew 13:36-43). And he also interpreted the parable of the net, “So shall it be in the
end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever
the wicked from among the righteous”. (Matthew
13:47-50, also II Thessalonians
1:7-10)
Do
you see how that a literal interpretation of Matthew 24:31
is in harmony with all of these references while the figurative is nothing but
speculation and conflict? On Matthew 24:34
some of these brethren find trouble with “This generation” They reason it means a single generation of a small number of years as
set forth in many other Bible references. Adam Clark says that the Greek word
means race, the race of the Jews being a distinct people till all the counsels
of God relative to them and the Gentiles be fulfilled. To say the least they
still surely hold their identity, but we see that this is a difficult verse. I
Peter 2:9 in the King James Version, “But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation” ---. Was Peter’s generation the only generation of such
people or does it mean that Christians, all Christians of every generation are
of this category of “being
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation”? The New King James reads
“chosen
generation”; The American Standard
Version, “an
elect race, a royal priesthood”, the New
American Standard; “A
Chosen Race, A Holy Nation”, The New International
Version; “a
chosen people, a royal priesthood,” The
New Revised Standard Version, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood.”. The Contemporary English Version; “But you are God’s chosen
and special people.” Are not Christians
of all generations, “God’s
chosen and special people”?
Let
us now look at Luke’s parallel to Matthew’s 24:29-35
and Mark’s 13:24-31.
“And there shall be signs in sun and moon and
stars; and upon the earth distress of nations for the roaring of the sea and
the billows; men fainting for fear, and far expectation of the things which are
coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken” (Luke 21:25-26). The sun,
moon, and stars being shaken would evidently cause the “roaring of the seas and
the billows.” “And then shall they
see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great” (21:27). So Luke says like Matthew
and Mark,
“and then shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud “-----. Again the question, where is the account in the Bible
or in secular history where any one saw Jesus “coming in a cloud” in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman armies?
Now
notice very carefully the reading of Luke 21:28,
“But when
these things begin to come to pass (referring
to the signs given in verses twenty-five through twenty- seven) look up, and lift up your
heads; because your redemption draweth nigh.” There is no way that “your redemption draweth nigh” could be referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. All obedient believers in Christ had had
redemption and salvation in Christ since the gospel was first preached by the
apostle Peter on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ. Acts 2:36-41
shows that about three thousand received redemption through the cleansing blood
of Christ (Ephesians 1:7, 4:30; Colossian
1:13-14; Romans 3:
24-25) on that day, and for about forty years after that Pentecost when the
gospel was first preached obedient believers had been receiving redemption and
salvation by the cleansing blood of Christ.
What then is the redemption spoken of in Luke 21:28?
It would have to be that eternal redemption in Christ! How could anyone
properly reason that it would be redemption from the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.?
Now
look carefully at Luke 21:31, “Even so also, when ye
see these things coming to pass, (the
signs referred to in Luke 21:25-27)
know ye that
the kingdom of God is nigh”. How on earth could this refer to 70A.D.? As already
stated the doors of the kingdom were opened by Peter’s first sermon, and for
about forty years obedient believers had been translated out of the power or
kingdom of darkness “into
the Son of his love; in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins:” ---- (Colossians 1:13-14)”.
What then is the meaning of Luke 21:31?
It surely means that eternal salvation in that eternal kingdom for all faithful
believers when Christ comes in His second advent! It means heaven for all the
faithful! How could there be any other meaning?
Now, turn back to I Thessalonians
chapter five. Remember that all mankind
can be put into four groups: The righteous dead, and the righteous living,
which the writer is talking about in 4:13-18,
and the other category is the unrighteous dead, and the unrighteous
living. Now, he doesn't divide them up
in chapter five, but he surely is talking about how that when Christ comes then
it will be judgment for all, the righteous and the unrighteous. Nowhere does the Bible teach two bodily
resurrections, but one bodily resurrection.
"For concerning the
times and the season brethren, ye have no need that ought be written unto you." So Paul had taught them concerning the coming
of Christ, they knew that he was to come unexpectedly. "For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night. When they are saying peace and
safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them." Here he is referring to Satan’s camp,
unbelievers, those who are not a part of the family of God. There may be a lot of good people, but they
still will be among the number of unrighteous because they did not obey the
gospel of Christ (Hebrews 5:8-9; II
Thessalonians 1:7-10). In other words the world will be going on as
usual, and the unbelievers will not be expecting Christ to come.
Verse three "When they are saying, Peace and safety,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child,
and they shall in no wise escape. But
ye, brethren, are not in darkness that day should overtake you as a thief." When he says you are not in darkness, he
means that they are not in the darkness of the world. They are not in sin. Remember Paul speaks of the Colossians as
having been “translated out of the
kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son” (Colossians 1:13). So Christian people do not belong to that kingdom
of darkness. "But ye brethren are not in darkness that
day should overtake you as a thief. For
ye are sons of light and sons of the day." For Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). In the Sermon on the Mount he said to his
disciples, “Ye are the light of the
world”. And so Christian people
are sons of light rather than sons of darkness.
"For ye are sons of
light, sons of the day: we
are not of the night, nor of darkness." And he is speaking of the night as those
belonging to Satan's camp. "So then, let us not sleep as do the
rest, but let us watch and be sober." Again, verse six is somewhat symbolic in
language. He is not talking about
physical sleep, but spiritual sleep. Let
us not be asleep, spiritually but let us be alert. As Jesus said,
"Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord
cometh” (Matthew 24:42). And so Christians should be prepared for the
coming of Christ at all times. "So then let us not sleep as do the
rest, but let us watch and be sober. For
they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that are drunken, are drunken in
the night. But let us, since we are of
the day, be sober putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a
helmet the hope of salvation."
I think we all understand the importance of a breastplate of faith and
love and the importance of that helmet of salvation, the hope of
salvation. "For God appointed us not unto wrath." In other words he does not want to loose a
single child of God. He wants every
child of God to be saved eternally. "For God appointed us not unto wrath
but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for
us. Whether we are awake or asleep, we
should live together with him.
Verse eleven,
“Wherefore exhort one another and build each other up even as also ye
do." Notice that verse
eleven is a command to all of us, that all of us need to have a part in that
process of exhorting and encouraging one another. "Exhort one another and build each other up even as ye
do." Anytime you have a
strong congregation of the Lord's people, it means that there is a lot of
building up from one member to another.
In other words each member is concerned about the other members of the
church and each one tries to do his part in exhorting and encouraging. "But
we beseech you brethren, to know them that labor among you and are over you in
the Lord and admonish you."
This surely would especially fit the elders of the church. They are the overseers of the church(Acts 20:28). I'm not ready to say it would exclude
possibly others on special occasions, but it would surely include the
elders. "Know
them that labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to
esteem them highly in love for their work. Be at peace among yourselves” (5:12-13). The Lord does not want any division among
us. And when members of the church show
their love for one another, exhorting and encouraging one another, I believe
they are going to have that peace of God that passes all understanding.
Peace and unity based on
following God’s word will make a church grow. All of us have responsibility in
keeping peace and unity in the church (Ephesians 4:1-7).
“Be at peace among yourselves. And
we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly." Now, we will wait until we get to chapter
three of II Thessalonians to go in detail, but the disorderly, were those in
particular who were not working, “encourage
the fainthearted.” I believe the
King James says, the feebleminded. The
American Standard says, fainthearted. "Support the weak, be long suffering
toward all. See that none render to
anyone evil for evil."
Surely, we should not want to render evil for evil or wrong for wrong to
our brethren, but sometimes it is done, but this passage includes
everybody. "See that none render to anyone, evil for evil, but
always follow after that which is good, one toward another and toward
all." That would include
those outside the church.
Verse sixteen, "Rejoice
always;” It means that regardless of circumstances, a child of God still
has a lot to rejoice about. He is still a child of God, and God will not allow
him to be tempted above that which he is able to bear (I Corinthians 10:13).
He is still a child of the king (Romans 8:16-17).
"Pray without ceasing." We have already talked about that. Prayer is not to be just for emergency
situations, but we are to pray regularly unto God. And I believe that is the primary meaning of
passages like this one, pray without ceasing or continue steadfastly in prayer
as we talked about in the last class session.
Verse eighteen, "In
everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus to
you." Now, just exactly what
does that mean? If a man's wife leaves
him for another man, is he to bow in prayer and say Lord, I thank thee that she
left me! Well, it just means that under
every circumstance that ‑‑
there are still many things for which we can be thankful. That is verse eighteen. Verse sixteen, "Rejoice
always; pray without ceasing; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus for you." That's the reading from the New Revised
Standard Version. Reading from the
Contemporary English Version verse eighteen, "Whatever
happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ." The point is we still have plenty to be
thankful for regardless of how difficult the circumstances may be at the
time. We still need to be thankful that
we are a child of God, that we are a child of the king (Romans 8:16-18).
Verse nineteen, "Quench not the spirit." In other words don't put water on the fire of
the spirit. Do not quench out the fire
of the spirit. And, of course, this is
during the miraculous age of the church, and they were given instruction by
inspired men. And, I think, it would
have special reference. And, of course,
it applies to us, do not quench the power of the word, but let it have full
meaning to us and with that desire of the heart to live according to the
meaning. "Quench not the spirit. Despise not prophecies." And that surely would have reference
to spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12:1-11).
Verse twenty-one, "Prove
all things." It may be that
there were some making out like they had the gift of prophecy when they did
not, but there were those that the apostles had laid their hands on (Acts 8:14-24;
II Timothy 1:6; I Corinthians 1:7,
9:2) and had given them the gift of
prophesying or teaching (I Corinthians 14:1-5). And so he says, "Prove all things.
Hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from every form of evil." One of the great dangers that a lot of people
take is trying to see how close they can get to evil without doing evil. We need to follow this rule. “Abstain
from every form of evil.” Stay
away from everything that has the appearance of evil. A good Old Testament
passage is Proverbs 16:17, "The highway of the upright is to
depart from evil. He that keepeth his
way shall preserve his soul." So
we need to stay on the right highway and depart from evil, instead of trying to
see how close we can get to evil, see how far away we can get from evil.
"And the God of peace himself, sanctify you holy.; and may your spirit and soul and body be
preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." I believe that would be the entire man. So he is praying that they will be faithful
to the Lord and be without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it. Brethren, pray for us." God will sanctify the “entire person” of every child of God whose life
always balances in the way of right living. We talked about how the epistles of
Paul show that he was a man of prayer, continually praying for his brethren,
and he solicited the prayers of his brethren, and we need to follow that good
example.
"Salute
all the brethren with a holy kiss." Now, Paul did not institute kissing as a way
of greeting, but that was the manner of greeting of the people of that day that
he is writing to. And, of course, a kiss
can be everything but a holy kiss. A
kiss can be very lustful, and so Paul is seeking to regulate that greeting by a
kiss. Think how Judas greeted Jesus ‑‑
betrayed him with a kiss (Luke 22:47-49).
"I
adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the brethren." It looks like from verse twenty-seven that
the epistle would have probably gone to the elders of the church and be
presented to them, and then they were to see to it that the epistle was read to
all the brethren. I think I have a
question with several references and when you put them together, they show very
clearly that when the epistles were received they were to be read to the
church. Of course, they didn't have
printing presses and copying machines and all the modern things that we have
today, and the letters were written by hand. So when an epistle was sent to a
church, it was to be read, in the assembly of the church and then it was sent
on to other churches. They were then to
circulate to other churches. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you."