1 and 2 Thessalonians deals much with the 'Day of the Lord' and what the meaning of this wonderful and terrible day. There are many false doctrines and misunderstandings of these two wonderful epistles written by Paul. By the context of the two books, even the Thessalonians had misgivings and misunderstanding of what the Day of the Lord entailed. As always, the truth of God's Word answers all false teachings.
The New Testament refers to the final day as the Day of the Lord and the Second Coming (Heb. 9:28), and it is important to understand these two terms refer to the same time. Paul said the Day would come like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2), just as Jesus said of the second coming (Matt. 24:42-44). This is also an important item to note, but more on that later. The resurrection will take place at the 'coming of the Lord' (1 Cor. 15:23), and John 6:44 says this will happen on 'the last day', both showing these two days are one and the same.
Even though the terms 'Day of the Lord' and 'Second Coming' are synonymous with each other, this doesn't mean that every time the Bible uses the term 'coming', that this refers to the second coming. For instance, in Matthew 10:23 and 16:28, when speaking of the establishment of the church, in Matthew 24:27 when speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, and elsewhere. Again, it is important to understand the difference in these terms, for many try to intermingle them, therefore confounding the issue at hand.
One major concern of many on this topic, is the belief that a rapture will occur before the coming of the Lord. This will be followed by a seven year period of tribulation, which at the end of that, we will see the return of our Lord to establish an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem (an earlier post written on this blog dealt with the establishment of the kingdom as already occurring). As far as the rapture is concerned, first of all we need to be very clear, there is no word in scripture as rapture. Many people want to add this term to scriptures and prophecy, but by doing so it would violate Revelation 22:18-19, which states that nothing should be added or taken away from the Word of God.
The rapture is widely known as the taking of the saints to heaven while leaving the unrighteousness here on earth. Many will point to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 as key to this belief. However, when studying this passage, it appears to be speaking about the righteous only. Just because the unrighteous are not mentioned, does not give men the right to add their own thoughts and beliefs when something is absent. James Meadows, a longtime evangelist, graduate of Freed-Hardeman, Union University and Harding Graduate School, as well as former columnist for the Gospel Advocate magazine, wrote the following:
"First, this text is not discussing both the wicked and the righteous. Second, the text
is discussing those that are asleep in Jesus (vv. 14-16) and those that are alive in Christ
(vv. 16,17). Third, 'the dead in Christ shall rise first' (v. 16) does not refer to their rising
before the wicked dead, but to their being raised before the righteous living are caught
up. After they are raised, both are 'caught up together' (v. 17). Fourth, other verses show
that both the righteous and the wicked will be raised at the same time (John 5:28-29).
Fifth, it teaches that we will be caught up to be with the Lord forever, not seven years."
Further, 2 Thess. 2:8 shows us that the two resurrections will happen at the same time. It is man that has added this thought of leaving the wicked only for a long period of time. Look at what Christ Himself said in John 5:28-29, "Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which ALL that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; AND they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgement." I think we can all agree that Jesus would not try to confuse or mislead us, but teach us exactly the truth! He said both would be raised, not at different times.
Many believe, that 1 Thessalonians 4:16 explains that the righteous will rise and leave the wicked to fend for themselves against the the Anti-Christ. This, however, is taken completely out of context. When we read the whole passage (vs. 13-18), we can see what Paul is trying to say. He gave inspired comfort to the Thessalonians concerning the Christians who had died (vs. 13, 18). He assured them that the resurrection of those asleep in Jesus was as sure as the resurrection of Jesus Himself (v. 14). He gave them God's Word that those living in Christ at that time would not prevent those that had already died (v. 15). He then closes this section by explaining how Christ would return from Heaven: With a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. Before we rise to meet Him in the air, however, the dead in Christ will be raised (v. 16-17). Note though, the dead outside of Christ are absent in this passage. Acts 24:15 supplements this passage and tells us that BOTH the just and unjust will be raised. Nothing again is mentioned of different times.
The Apostles also had some problems understanding what and when the Day of the Lord was. In Matthew chapter 24, they were pressing Jesus as to when these events would take place. Here, Jesus speaks of a tribulation the likes of which the world had never seen, but it was one that the APOSTLES would go through (Matt. 24:1-22), not future man. These events did in fact happen, just as Christ prophesied. All the Apostles but one, were killed in horrible fashion, and there were countless different persecutions of Christians around the world at different times in history, killing countless faithful Christians. Just read Fox's Book of Martyr's (which is free for e-readers) to see the horrible events that happened. Jesus also mentions the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, which many believe will take place in the future, but actually happened in A.D. 70 by the Romans. The faithful fled into the mountains, just as Jesus foresaw. It is important to read this passage, because you can easily see that Jesus is using the words 'you' and 'ye' when speaking to the Apostles. It would happen to them in their 'generation' (Matt. 24:34).
Many people are also obsessed, for lack of a better word, in looking for supposed signs that would happen before the Day of the Lord, often using Matthew chapter 24. "When shall these things be?" (Matt. 24:1-3, Mark 13:4, Luke 21:7). This was answered by Jesus in Matthew 12:39 when He said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be NO sign given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet." How much clearer can the Lord be? He will return 'like a thief in the night', or as He said in Matthew 24:50, "the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he expecteth not, in an hour when he knoweth not." How could this possibly be true if we have signs telling us it is coming? God is true to His Word.
So, what exactly will happen on the Day of the Lord? He will return as promised (John 14:1-3). The resurrection will happen on that day (John 6:44). The Thessalonians were promised this (1 Thess. 4:13-18). Both the righteous and unrighteous would be raised at the same time (John 5:28-29). The living would be changed (1 Cor. 15:34-58). The judgment of the world will happen, as appointed by God (Heb. 9:27, Acts 17:30-31). Christ will be the judge (Acts 17:31). The Word of God will be the standard (John 12:48, Rev. 20:11-15). All nations will be assembled (Matt. 25:31-46). Each will be judged according to the deeds done in the body (2 Cor. 5:10). The righteous will be rewarded (Matt. 25:34, 2 Cor. 5:10). The wicked will be condemned (Matt. 13:40-42, 25:41, 2 Thess. 1:7-9, Rev. 20:15, 21:8). Finally, the earth will be burned up (2 Pet. 3:10). The Bible shows us in all these different passages, that all of these events will take place on the same day.
The Day of the Lord will be the last day in history of man. It will be a wonderful day for the faithful, and terrible indeed for the unrighteous. When this day happens, there will be no second chances for man, as some religious leaders and books such as the Left Behind series try to claim. I implore all of you who have taken the time to read this post (and I thank you for this) to not put your souls on the line for what others have said to you, but to study ALL that God has told us, and to believe and trust in Him, to obey His loving commands. We all know that man quite often makes mistakes and gets things wrong, but God can never be wrong nor steer us in the wrong direction. Finally, it so very important to be prepared for that final day, for we do not know when it will happen, or when we will leave this life. Once the we do, or the Day of the Lord occurs, it will be too late.
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