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Coming
of the Lord
INTRODUCTION
The
Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the residents of a Roman colony, that
was the chief city in Macedonia. Paul
had established the Church on his second missionary journey, after a
painful ministry in Philippi. He also faced great opposition in this city
and had to leave after a relatively short period, likely before completing
two months of ministry. We are told specifically that he had preached
Christ and his death and resurrection, and many prominent gentiles, both
men and women believed. They became great examples of how believers should
live, and their life and ministry bore a great deal of fruit. They were an
excellent example for all the churches in the region, and everyone knew
that. In
this lesson, we will look at the apostle Paul’s exhortation to this
model church, whose members he so loved and whom he addressed so
affectionately. The Apostle had praised the church for its working faith,
its labour of love, and its continued living in expectation of the coming
of Christ. He lauded them for spreading the gospel throughout the region
and presenting an example of faithfulness in suffering. The
Apostle wanted the church to increase more and more in their life of
holiness, and excelling in good works. He
reminded them, that God had willed for them to be sanctified, that is, set
apart from the godless culture in which they lived, and therefore they
should walk to always please God. Specifically,
he urged them to remain sexually pure, and avoid uncleanness, obviously a
very difficult thing to do in that sex-charged society. Then he encouraged
them to continue to work hard and reject a life of laziness, not just
sitting by and waiting for the completion of their sanctification. They
were exhorted to live a life of increasing love, and be always calm, quiet
and orderly. As
Paul gave his advice, he commended them for their example of faith and
love, which was moreover recognized by all the churches. The
sterling worth of these Thessalonians, showed itself in their concern for
the welfare of some of their brethren, who apparently had died shortly
after their conversion. They seemed to have been afraid, that those who
had already died, would miss out on some great benefit from God, that they
would have had if they had remained alive. Of
course, death is an unknown, which all men have to face, and for men it
brings fear. The
pagans would have experienced tremendous grief and sorrow when their loved
ones died, for they believed there was no return from that state. One famous Greek poet Theocritus had written: “Hopes
are for the living; the dead are without hope”. Another, the Roman poet Catullus wrote: “The
sun can set and rise again; but our brief light sets, there is one
unending night to be slept through”. A famous tombstone Thessalonian inscription by the pagan poet Aeschlus read: “Of
one once dead there is no resurrection”. Another named Moschus, when using the analogy of plants in the garden that die said: “Alas!
alas!.. these live and spring again in another year; but we…when we die,
deaf to all sound in the hollow earth, sleep a long, long endless sleep
that knows no waking.” Interestingly, accordingly to one writer: “The
pagan Egyptians believed that death was simply a temporary interruption,
rather than complete cessation, of life, and that eternal life could be
ensured by means like piety to the gods, preservation of the physical form
through mummification, and the provision of statuary and other funerary
equipment. Each human being consisted of the physical body, the ‘ka’,
the ‘ba’, and the ‘akh’…After judgment the dead went to a life
not unlike that on earth or were cast to the ‘Eater of the Dead’-
Seth.” It
is very understandable therefore, that the Thessalonians recently
converted from the ignorance of paganism, would have feared about the
state after death, and would face recurring doubts, about the extent to
which the change God had wrought in them, would affect their status after
death. This
fear should not be surprising to us today, for even today Christians
struggle with this matter of death and dying. Though they talk about the
coming of Christ and the eventual resurrection of their bodies, they still
face death with great trepidation, often wondering whether or not they
will ever see their loved ones again, how long they will have to wait to
see them, or whether they will recognize them in any future meeting. Some
even fearfully anticipate death, and do not rest completely in the
knowledge of the power of the resurrection, and their union with Christ. Given
the ideas prevalent in their culture, it was necessary for Paul, after
hearing Timothy’s assessment of their fears, to revisit his teachings on
what happens after the death of the brethren. Notice
the vast difference between the pagan position, and the position of God.
Pagans have no certain and sure hope, and have no status of glory in the
coming manifestation of the Kingdom of God. Without God, and being outside
of the commonwealth of Israel, they have no hope in the world. Our
lesson today points out clearly, that there is a qualitative change when
one becomes a member of the body of Christ. Everything is affected and
changed. There is a passage from death into life. No wonder then, that the Apostle Paul stressed, indeed commanded the brethren to live lives of holiness, walk pleasing to God, and abound more and more in love. They were now new creatures, and belonged to the Kingdom of God, a completely different world, with a completely different standard and orientation, from that of the world. Hence, Paul showed how life after death meant something completely different from the pagan concepts. THE TEXTVerse
13.
Paul first expresses his desire that they not remain in ignorance
about details of their new state. He now
specifically deals with any misunderstanding about the state of believers
who had died, and what would happen to them in the near and in the distant
future. It is probable that because of his hasty departure from
Thessalonica, he had not had the opportunity to more thoroughly finish his
teachings on the second Coming of Jesus. It was
necessary that they be enlightened quickly, for this lack of knowledge
would bring grief and sorrow, such as that which came upon the heathen, a
people who had no hope. The mourning of the rest of the world for the
departed, who had no hope of eternal life, was very different from the
mourning of Christian believers, who logically and necessarily have hope
of the resurrection. The
living God, who cannot lie, has promised Christians a sure hope of the
resurrection, and this moderates the sorrows we feel when persecution and
death comes to us or our loved ones who believe. The
effect of ignorance is indeed serious. We do not know everything about
life after death, but we do know enough, so that that our sorrows are
moderated, and our fears laid to rest, though death is hard to face. In
opening up the future for us, Paul deals with the matter of our tomorrows. He
speaks only to believers, and likens death to ‘sleep’. This is quiet
resting, and death does not annihilate them and there will be an awakening
and meeting with the living at some point. Death
is like laying down to take a nap, and awaking in glory. Christians
therefore named their burial places “cemeteries” which meant,
“sleeping places”. This
is not as the pagan poet put it, a ‘sleep of one everlasting night’. Note
that the word ‘sleep’ has always been
used as a metaphor for death. The word used means ‘lying
asleep’ and is also used for natural sleep. The word is thus used to
describe the death of the body, never the soul, for the very nature of
this word precludes us from applying it to the ‘soul’. Note
that the root of the word means to lie down and we know that only a body
can lie down, a soul cannot lie down. We can
therefore easily understand why the Scriptures speak only of a
resurrection of the body. Note
also that the word for ‘resurrection’ is the Greek “anastasis”
which means, “to stand up”. This is important to understand for a soul
can neither lie down nor stand up. Remember
the judgment God gave in Genesis 2 when man sinned. The body would return
to the dust from whence it was fashioned, but the spirit would return to
God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) So for
Christians then, death means being absent from the body, and immediately
to be present at home with the Lord. What we call our bodies is really
only a frail tent, a temporary dwelling, which according to 1 Corinthians
15:51-54, 2 Corinthians 5:1-9, and Philippians 1:23, will be set aside and
changed to a completely different kind of body, for men are creatures with
a body, and are not simply only to be spirits. The
believer’s death has been called sleep, a description used even by the
pagans, because a dead body and a sleeping body are appear similar. Note
in this regard here that the sleeper does not cease to exist, and we
cannot therefore say that a dead person ceases to exist. But we
know that sleep is temporary, just as death is for the believer. In
addition one wakes from sleep, death thus has its resurrection. The
Thessalonian brethren would see their long lost brethren again, and would
not like Martha’s response to Jesus’ “You brother will live again”
in John 11:24, be “Oh, I know he will live again at the Last Day”. Paul intended the brethren to realize that whatever the situation, they would not have to wait for a long time to see their departed brethren. Verse
14.
To confirm his previous statement, the Apostle now stated that just
as they surely had faith in or believed that Christ died and rose from the
dead, (this doctrine was stressed to the Thessalonians in Acts 17:3), so
also believers who are laid to rest to sleep in Jesus, would be brought
back from sleep with Jesus when he comes again. The
experience of Christ in dying and rising is repeated in the believer. In
His case, His experience is described as ‘death’, but in the case of
the believer, his experience is described as ‘sleep’ to indicate that
when a person is in him, ‘death’ is no longer ‘death’. The
believer shall never ‘die’. Their bodies simply sleep, and they await
their new bodies to be brought back from sleep. Note
that the believer is brought back to earth with him, for clearly they had
been with God, ‘asleep in him’. They are better off being with him,
than when they were on earth, and when Jesus returns, he will bring them
with him. Paul discusses elsewhere that it was better to be with Christ, than to be with the brethren, but the brethren needed him, so he would stay with them. Verse
15. It
had been revealed to him by God, (whether by direct revelation or by an
unrecorded saying of Jesus) and the Apostles preached that those living
would experience the glory of
the second coming of Jesus, while the departed saints would also
experience this glory. Both would enter glory. The living and the dead
would be together when our Lord Jesus returns. The believer will be in
that event whether they had died (fallen asleep previously) or whether
they were alive at his coming. We will all be together. Note
that Paul looked for Christ to come and clothe him with his body from
Heaven, but he also looked to go and be with Christ in the meantime. See 2
Cor. 5:1-10; Phil 1:6,23; 3:20, 21; 4:5. It is simply guesswork and
reading preconceptions into the Scriptures to say that Paul and the
Apostles thought that Jesus would come back in their lifetime. The
Apostle John certainly destroyed that idea in John 21:22-24. It was also
known that the Apostle Peter would die. John 21:18, 19. See also the
experience of some other believers such as Stephen. It is a real stretch
to say that apostolic teaching was that Jesus would return very shortly
after a few brief years of absence and that Paul’s commendation to the
Thessalonian brethren that they waited for the Son of God from Heaven
indicated such a teaching. In the light of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew
24, that teaching would hardly be likely. To suggest that those
statements, especially for examples those in verses 23 to 28 could apply
to the listening disciples, makes little sense. In addition one writer comments on Paul’s speech: “The
‘we’ is an affectionate identifying of ourselves with our fellows of
all ages, as members of the same body, under the same Head, Christ Jesus.
So Hosea 12:4, “God spake with us in Bethel”, that is, with
Israel. “We did rejoice”, that is, Israel at the Red Sea (Psalm
66:6). Though neither Hosea, nor David, was alive at the times referred,
yet each identifies himself with those that were present.” Verse
16.
Paul then describes this coming of Jesus. Drawing on Jesus’
teaching in Matthew 24:23-31, he declares that the majestic Jesus will in
person descend from Heaven with all the pomp and stunningly manifested
power. This
is the appearance of a mighty king and conqueror coming in triumph. As one
writer puts it there will be: “ a ‘signal shout’, ‘war
shout’. Jesus is represented as a victorious King, giving the word
of command to the hosts of heaven in His train for the last onslaught, at
his final triumph over sin, death, and Satan (Rev 19:11, 21). There
will also be the voice of the archangel, to whom God has committed the
guardianship of Israel. (Daniel 12:1). There
will also be the blast of the trumpet, a blast that accompanies God’s
glory when it is manifested. See Psalm 47, especially verse 5, which also
describes this scene of Jesus’ coming and his enthronement on earth. See
also Exodus 19:16. Psalm
50:1-6 also describes this scene, as does Matthew 24:31. The effect of all this is noted as one writer comments: “The
first care of the Redeemer in that day will be about his dead saints; he
will raise them before the great change passes on those that shall be
found alive; so that those who sleep in death will have no greater
privilege or joy at that day than those that fell asleep in Jesus.” The trumpet of God sounds and brings panic to His enemies, for they know that this is really war. The sound of the trumpet also calls the people to God to solemn assembly, for they now know that God himself is present and ready to meet them. Verse
17. This
is the first resurrection, and it belongs to all the people of God. This
mortal now puts on immortality. The
living then meet together, changed, with those who were asleep, and one
joint body goes to meet Jesus Christ into the air, the region above the
earth. They ascend while the Lord descends. There
will be no future parting. This is ultimate bliss. The saints, all of
them, will forever be with their Lord, all on the same equal footing, and
with the same advantage. This is the great reward, to be with Jesus. Death
will never break this unity of God’s people. Note
that great doctrines have an immediate practical effect in the lives of
believers. These teachings are used to ‘give’ comfort to others.
Giving comfort when a believer faces death, whether his or that of his
family or friends, is most important. Note
that when a loved one is not in the family of God, no real comfort can be
given. It
therefore behooves is to do our utmost to ensure that our loved ones
become believers. The fasting and prayers to God to beseech Him to show
mercy to our loved ones, is at best a small price to pay. It is worth
paying this price, so that we will have comfort, and be able to give
comfort. Let us remember we are not like the pagans. Our goals and the things which will give us comfort come from God. Like the Thessalonian Church, we must therefore live a life of holiness and truth, so that when we pray and ask God to save our loved ones he will listen and hear us. Verse
18.
Serious consideration and meditation on this will bring the
greatest of comfort to the saints. There will therefore be no mourning for
the dead, as the pagans did. A
comment must now be made on the matter of the time of the Coming of Jesus,
and the Resurrection of the Dead. Will
the saints of the Old Testament, and those of the New Testament be
together? What does the Old Testament Scripture tell us of this event? Are
there two comings of the resurrected Jesus? Will there be one ‘Coming’
in secret and another ‘Coming’ in public? What does the word
“Coming” mean? Should we be wary of redefinitions of this word to fit
sundry new interpretations? Is the ‘Coming’ a single event, or is it a
series of events? COMMENT There
are many views of the Coming of Jesus. Some
nowadays will tell you that they have been given special powers to prepare
the world for the ‘Coming’ of Jesus, for this will not occur until
they have transformed and conquered the world for Christ. Others
teach that Jesus is already here secretly, doing some mysterious work,
before he reveals himself. Others
say that his “Spirit” is here working and we should not expect any
physical, visible return. Some even say we are Christ anyway, so he is here. Until
about the second quarter of the 19th century, those who
believed that Jesus Christ would return to earth to begin a thousand year
reign on the earth, which was called the Millennium, though they disagreed
on some matters, had a generally agreed to set of views. One writer summarized the generally agreed to views as follows (1)
That the approaching Advent of Christ would be visible, personal
and glorious (2)
That the Advent, though in itself a single crisis, will be
accompanied and followed by a variety of phenomena bearing upon the
history of the Church, of Israel, and the world. Believers who survive
till the Advent will be transfigured and translated to meet the
approaching Lord, together with the saints raised and changed at the first
resurrection. Immediately following this, Antichrist and his allies will
be slain, and Israel, the covenant people, will repent and be saved, by
looking upon Him whom they pierced. (3)
Thereupon the Messianic Kingdom of prophecy, which, as the
Apocalypse informs us, will last for a thousand years, will be established
in power and great glory in a transfigured world. The nations will turn to
God, (openly but not necessarily in their heart) ,war and oppression
cease, and righteousness and peace cover the ea (4)
At the conclusion of the kingly rule of Christ and His saints, the
rest of the dead will be raised, the Last Judgment will ensue, and a new
and eternal world be created. (5)
No distinction was made between the Coming of our Lord, and His
Appearing, Revelation, and Day, because these were all held to be
synonymous, or at least related terms, signifying always the one Advent in
glory at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom. (6)
Whilst the Coming of Christ, no matter how long the present
dispensation may last, is the true and proper hope of the Church in every
generation, it is nevertheless conditioned by the prior fulfillment of
certain signs or events in the history of the Kingdom of God: the Gospel
has first to be preached to all nations; the Apostasy and Man of Sin be
revealed, and the Great Tribulation come to pass. Then shall the Lord
come. (7) The Church of Christ will not be removed from the earth until the Advent of Christ at the very end of the present age: the Rapture and the Appearing take place at the same crisis; hence Christians of that generation will be exposed to the final affliction under Antichrist. All
the so-called early Church Fathers, such as Irenaeus, Justin Martyr,
Tertullian and so on held these views. A new
and popular strain of prophetic interpretation appears to have started in
the 1830 by a Margaret MacDonald of Scotland, who laid claims to new
revelations by the Holy Spirit and she first spoke of a secret coming of
Christ, and divided His Coming into two phases. John Darby of the Plymouth
Brethren met her and was exposed to her views. Darby was also exposed to Edward Irving and the Plymouth Brethren, who had similar revelations to MacDonald. Several strands of prophetic interpretation came together. The new teaching came to America mainly via the work of C.I Scofield’s Reference Bible, and was spread by numerous adherents. Several novel ideas were thus introduced into prophetic interpretation. They include, though there are many variations and disagreements (1) The Second Coming of Christ will take place in two distinct stages; the first, which concerns the Church alone, occurs at the beginning of, or prior to, the last or apocalyptic Week of Daniel; the second, which concerns Israel and the world, takes place at the close of that Week. Between Christ’s Coming in relation to the church, and His Coming in relation to the world, there thus intervenes a period of at least seven years- the period of the apocalyptic Week, during which Antichrist is manifested. At the first stage of the Advent all the dead in Christ, together with the righteous dead of the Old Testament will be raised in the image and glory of Christ; these together with those Christians who live to see the Lord’s Coming, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This is the Coming of the Lord, and is the true hope of the Church. (2) At the second stage, seven or more years later, Antichrist will be destroyed, Israel converted and renewed, and the millennial Kingdom set up. This is the Day, Appearing, or Revelation of Christ, and is entirely distinct from the Coming, for it concerns the world and Israel, whilst the Coming concerns the Church alone. The second stage has this, and this only, that concerns the Church, that it will be the time for the judgment and rewarding of the heavenly saints for their service on earth. Some however, refer the rewarding to the time of the Coming, or Rapture, as the first stage is generally called. Note
the new exegesis or reasoning for a single phrase in 2 Thessalonians 2:8
is interpreted to mean a secret coming (parousia) takes place at the
beginning of the 70th Week of Daniel or before it, and another
public Coming or parousia come afterwards to establish the Millennium.
None of the unconverted will witness the resurrection of the sleeping
saints, the translation of the living, the descending Christ, their
meeting with Him, or their ascent back to Heaven. Note
that this new reasoning does not match up with Scripture. There
are three undisputed texts in the Bible that deal with the Rapture, and
they are 1 Thess. 4:17, 2 Thess 2:1 and John 14:3, but there are many Old
Testament and New Testament texts that deal with the resurrection of the
holy dead, something which all agree takes place at the Rapture. Wherever
we find the resurrection therefore we will find the Rapture. In the mini
apocalypse of Isaiah we find in Isaiah 26:19 we find a literal statement
of the resurrection. In chapter 25 we find the song of redemption when the
Redeemer comes to Zion and Israel looking on Him is saved. Verse 6 speaks
of the establishment of God’s Kingdom. This is the Day of the Lord, when
Jehovah comes, that is, the Coming, Israel is reconciled to Him and
converted, and the Messianic Kingdom is established. Living Israel is
restored, the sleeping saints are brought to life at the beginning of
Messiah reign, and not some time after. Isaiah 19 Verses 7-8 then speak of the resurrection of the dead. Verse
9 tells us that the repentant people will say in that day, the day of the
establishment of the Kingdom and the resurrection “Lo this is our God;
we have waited for him, and He will save us… “. Daniel
12:1-3 also clearly refers to a bodily resurrection and the glory that
entails, linked to the salvation of Israel. Note
also Daniel’s resurrection spoken of in Daniel 12:13 is associated with
the End of Days. In
John 6:39-54, Jesus also places the resurrection at the last day. See also
John 11:24. Classic statements about the resurrection are also found in
Matthew 13:43, Luke 14:14-15 and speak of the time of the resurrection, as
well as denying the validity of any program of the resurrection, that
separates this from a time of peace, renewal and righteousness Romans
11:15 CLEARLY LINKS THE CONVERSION OF ISRAEL to the first resurrection. In
addition 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 builds on Isaiah 25:8, links the
resurrection and transfiguration of the faithful dead to the victory over
death, synchronizes it to the Coming of Jehovah, the beginning of the
theocratic Kingdom, and the conversion of Israel. No
proof is brought forward to modify Jesus’ view of time, which is that of
the fundamental Jewish idea of eschatology, a Jewish definition of two
ages, namely, this age, and the age which is to come. See Luke 20:34-36,
Matt. 12:32, Luke 28:30, 1 Timothy 6:17, Gal. 1:4 versus that coming age
Luke 20:35, Mark 10:30, Hebrews 6:5, Eph 1:21 for example. All
this and more is fatal to these new theories, which involve all kinds of
unsupportable redefinitions of words. Jesus will come, and all will see him. He will then deal with evil, and begin his rule on the earth. THE TEXT 1 THESSALONIANS 5:2-11 Verses
1-2.
The Apostle now stresses the suddenness of the Coming of Christ and
the necessity for watching. This of course leads to his emphasis on the
necessity for holy living and thus being found blameless at the Coming of
Christ. Paul
had doubtlessly told them of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 24:3 and Acts
1:7. They should not expect any answer to an enquiry as to the specific
time of Christ’s Coming. The
Father had reserved that decision for himself. Only he knew the answer to
that question. But it was certain that Jesus would return at the appointed
time, and he had no additional revelation on this point. Many
persons have ignored this and have given reasons based on their
calculations when Jesus will return. All of these calculations are totally
erroneous. People
do not understand this point. Many still preach that the saints will be
raptured, the Great Tribulation will begin and last for 7 years, and then
Jesus will return for the third time. They do not seem to understand that
if that were so, the time of Jesus’ return publicly, according to their
interpretation, could be easily calculated and known. There
is nothing in Scripture or in the revelation of the Holy Spirit to
indicate that men will be able to calculate or even to very closely
approximate the time of Jesus’ Coming. Paul
told the brethren that the Coming of Jesus would be sudden and surprising
to men on the earth. The Day of the Lord would come stealthily, just as
how a thief comes in the night. The
thief actually does not give any indication as to when he will come, and
actually tries to prevent the householder from guessing accurately, and
thus taking steps to protect himself. Of
course, the believer who watches patiently will see certain signs, but he
is warned to stay on the alert, admittedly a difficult task. While he
waits patiently he occupies himself with working, and in witnessing,
spreading the truth of the gospel. This activity will so engross him that
he will not worry, but will be patient. Not the reference to the Day of the Lord. As stated before this Day is spoken of in all the Scriptures, and have one meaning, not an indeterminate period of time. It is linked to the Coming of Jesus, the destruction of Antichrist, the salvation of Israel, the resurrection of al the saints and so on, and not to any marked separation of action as the novel theories indicate. Verse
3.
The people of the world, like the Foolish Virgins, will be
slumbering, ignoring the signs of the Coming that are clearly spelled out,
and will not want to accept what is plainly in front of their eyes. They
will act just as the foolish men in the days of Noah, who rejected the
word of truth, and continued their lifestyle of enjoyment and survival.
The rich then continued to enjoy life, the middle classes followed them as
best they could, and the poor struggled along hoping for the best, and
probably to win the local lottery and escape their lot in life. Note
now the depths of the iniquity of men. No matter how the signs that the
end is near hurt them, they will refuse to countenance any idea that Jesus
is returning to judge them. Satan
will make extraordinary efforts to deceive them, and they will accept the
deception, participating in or not doing anything to stop his plans and
activities to “wear out the saints of the Most High”. They all are
therefore guilty and deserve judgment. Terrible
destructive judgment will therefore overtake them while they are engrossed
with their foolish carnal fancies. This is likened to the labour pangs
suffered by a woman about to deliver a child. If she ignores the signs,
then the actual delivery will hit her suddenly, when she least expects. We are therefore advised that there will be terrible destruction when Jesus returns. The unbelievers will not be able to escape or avoid the terrible consequences, the terrors and the punishments. There will be no place to hide. Verse
4-5.
The brethren are however not in spiritual darkness. There was
therefore no reason that the Day would catch them doing what was against
their God. Note
the clear possibility that some could be caught off guard like the Foolish
Virgins. Hence the warning was made. It would be their own fault if the
Day surprised them. This was fair warning. As children of light they had
more than sufficient help available to maintain them in blamelessness,
godly activity, the work of faith, and their labour of love. They
were true Christians and not in a state of the darkness of sin. They had
already been changed. Now followed good practical plain advice from Paul. If followed they would never need to worry. Verse 6. First, do not go to sleep. Do not lose touch with reality. The
rest of the world, since they live in apathy to spiritual things, are
sleeping. Watch. Be constantly on guard against the subtle or unsubtle temptation of sin. Keep an eye on the foolishness of the world and at all cost avoid anything similar. Be always awake and conscious. Keep on trying all the spirit to see if they are of God. Verses
7-8.
Be sober. This is connected to watching. Do not
dream like the rest of the world, and get trapped into their fantasies,
such as chasing riches, worldly fame and fortune, excitement and
self-indulgence. Control the natural appetites. Jesus,
in Luke 21:34 spelled this out. He warned his disciples not to allow their
hearts to be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of
this life. If they did, the Day would come on them unawares. Persons who like to drink generally drink in the night and become drunk. They therefore sleep away the daytime when they should be working. One writer makes this comment: “It
is a most reproachful thing for men to sleep away the daytime, which is
for work and not for sleep, to be drunken in the day, when so many eyes
are upon them, to behold their shame. It was not so strange if those who
had not the benefit of divine revelation suffered themselves to be lulled
asleep by the devil in carnal security, and if they laid the reins upon
the neck of their appetites, and indulged themselves in all manner of riot
and excess; for it was nigh time to them. They were not sensible of any danger, therefore they slept; they were not sensible of their duty, therefore they were drunk; but it ill become Christians to do thus. What!
Shall Christians, who have the light of the blessed gospel shining in
their faces, be careless about their souls, and unmindful of another
world? Those
who have so many eyes upon them should conduct themselves with particular
propriety.” Next,
be well armed. Put on therefore the whole armour of God. One writer sums it up thus: “Here, the reference is to the Christian means of being guarded against being surprised by the day of the Lord as a thief in the night. The helmet and the breastplate defend the two vital parts, the head and the heart respectively. With heart and head right, the whole man is right. The Head needs to be kept from error and the heart from sin.” Verse
9-11.
Note this important doctrinal statement. Be careful however, for
people have tried to trivialize this verse by trying to make it the basis
for particular prophetic interpretations. The statement is that as one writer put is: “If
we would trace our salvation to the first cause, that is God’s
appointment. The sureness and firmness of divine appointment are the great
support and encouragement of our hope. Were we to obtain salvation by our
own merit and power, we could have but little or no hope in it…” It has
been designed that salvation is by grace through Jesus Christ, who died
for us. God appointed his death and his death atoned for our sins. It is
God’s gracious design and purpose that we should come into union with
Christ. Our salvation then comes because of both God’s appointment and
Christ’s atonement. It is therefore our “hope” that we be with him forever. That is how God has set it up. This is what we look forward to. In him Jesus, is fullness of joy. That is guaranteed and sure. Neither death nor life nor anything in heaven or on earth can separate us from that fulfillment. Verse 11. Paul then advises that knowledge of these things will bring comfort to believers. Their task therefore is to build up, and exhort, seeing to the comfort and welfare of others. They should communicate their knowledge and testimony to the brethren and others. CONCLUSION
It is
so easy to place God in your own little box to one side, and to live for
ourselves. The
imperative is we need to encourage and build up one another. We have to
reach out and help others. That does not mean that we must encourage error. We have a responsibility to encourage people in the one most holy faith, which is revealed by the prophets and the Apostles. We must work faithfully as the Thessalonians worked and laboured with love. |