BIBLE STUDY MANUALS - FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER FIVE

FIRST THESSALONIANS CHAPTER FIVE
OBSERVATIONS

The purpose of the observation stage is to maintain focus on the text at hand in accordance with the framework in which it was written: a framework which is defined by the normative rules of language, context and logic - rules which do not impose undue, unintended meanings to the text , and which largely limit the observer to the content offered by Paul's epistle to the Thessalonians and his other writings. In order for any passage from elsewhere to be considered, it must have a relationship with the context at hand, such as a Scriptural quotation or a specific cross reference in the passage at hand by the author. This will serve to avoid going on unnecessary tangents elsewhere; and more importantly, it will provide the framework for a proper and objective comparison with passages located elsewhere in Scripture.

Remember that something elsewhere may be true, but in the text at hand it may not be in view.

Note that information on manuscript evidence is from "THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT AND TRANSLATION COMMENTARY," by Philip W. Comfort, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, Carol Stream, IL.

****** EXCERPT FROM 1 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 4 ******
OR MOVE TO FIRST VERSE OF CHAPTER FIVE

C) [1 Thes 4:13-18]:

1) [(1 Thes 4:13-18) Manuscript Evidence For 1 Thes 4:13-18]:

a) [(1 Thes 4:13) Manuscript Evidence For 1 Thes 4:13]:

(1 Thes 4:13 NASB) "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope."

The WH, NU editions read "concerning the ones sleeping" with the support of Sinaiticus, A, B, 0278, 33, 1739, Origen.

TR reads "concerning the ones having slept, with the support of D (D, G), Psi, Maj. The variant reading in TR, is a scribal alteration intended to conform this idiom to the more familiar form, which usually appears in the perfect tense (see Mt 27:52; 1 Cor 15:20). But Paul's emphasis here is not on those who experienced death (which is conveyed by the idiom "koimOmenOn") but on those who are presently dead, for which the present tense is appropriate. These are the Christians who sleep (in death) until the advent of Christ and their subsequent resurrection.

b) [(1 Thes 4:16) Manuscript Evidence For 1 Thes 4:16]:

(1 Thes 4:16 NKJV) "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."

Instead of the wording "the dead in Christ will rise first," a Western reading (D*, F, G, it) changes the last word to "prOtoi," yielding the rendering, "the dead in Christ are the first to rise." This change alleviates a potential problem for any reader who may try to figue out what the dead in Christ will do second - but that is not the point. Quite simply, Paul is affirming that dead Christians will preceed living Christians in the Rapture.

c) [(1 Thes 4:17) Manuscript Evidence For 1 Thes 4:17]:

(1 Thes 4:17 NASB) "Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."

The Western text presents some some changes in this verse. Instead of identifying the living Christians as "the living ones, the remaining ones), F, G, it(a,b) identify them as simply "the living ones." Perhaps some scribe(s) thought they were ridding the text of a tautological expression, inasmuch as "the remaining ones" are none other than "the living ones." And instead of "a meeting," a few other Western manuscripts (D*, F, G) read which also means "meeting,"), probably under the influence of Mt 25:1.

d) [(1 Thes 4:18) Manuscript Evidence For 1 Thes 4:18]:

(1 Thes 4:18 NKJV) "Therefore comfort one another with these words."
At the end of this verse, 1739(c), and a few other manuscripts expand the final expression from "these words" to "these words of the Spirit," Perhaps some scribe thought it necessary to show that Paul's description of Christ's advent and the resurrection of the believers (4:13-17) was not something of his own imagination but was inspired by the Spirit.

2) [(1 Thes 4:13-18) Commentary On 1 Thes 4:13-18]:

(1 Thes 4:13 NASB) "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

(1 Thes 4:14 NASB) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.

(1 Thes 4:15 NKJV) For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming [Gk: parousian" = appearing] of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

(1 Thes 4:16 NKJV) 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.

(1 Thes 4:17 NASB) Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

(1 Thes 4:18 NKJV) Therefore comfort one another with these words."

a) [(1 Thes 4:13) Commentary On 1 Thes 4:13]:

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."

i) FELLOW BELIEVERS ARE BEING ADDRESSED

"Brothers" = fellow believers.

i_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:1, 7; 4:14]:

(v. 1:1) "Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you."

[Notice that the church of the Thessalonians is "in the Lord Jesus Christ," i.e., believers.]

(v. 1:7) "And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia."

(v. 4:14) "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

Notice that author Paul identifies the content of his belief and that of the Thessalonians he was addressing being " that Jesus dies and rose again", i.e., the gospel, which corroborates his testimony in this book of being a brother in Christ as well as those in Thessalonica whom he is addressing as brothers, (1:4, 4:13, i.e., fellow believers).

ii) THE PHRASE "FALL ASLEEP" IS ADDRESSING BELIEVERS WHO HAVE PHYSICALLY DIED WHO ARE FURTHER DESCRIBED AS 'ASLEEP IN JESUS' AND 'DEAD IN CHRIST'

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."

"We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep" = "fall asleep" = believers who have physically died.

ii_a) [Compare 1 Thes 4:14-16]:

(v. 14) "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.

(v. 15) According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

(v. 16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first."

The phrase "We believe that Jesus died and rose again" defines we as believers. "Those" in the next phrase has in view, those believers. They are described as "fallen asleep in Him, [Jesus].

Then the next verse which begins, "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those [believers] who have fallen asleep [i.e., are not still alive]."

"still alive" is juxtaposed within the verse to "fallen asleep" as an opposite. Therefore "fallen asleep" or "those who sleep" refers to those believers who are not alive, i.e., physically dead. Furthermore, "those who have fallen asleep" is described in verse 16 as "the dead in Christ."

Note that the following verses also use being asleep as a euphemism for the physical death of a believer: Jn 11:11; Acts 7:60; 1 Cor 15:20.

iii) PAUL INDICATES THAT THE REST OF MEN, I.E., THOSE HE IS NOT ADDRESSING IN THIS EPISTLE = UNBELIEVERS, HAVE NO HOPE AS OPPOSED TO BELIEVERS WHO DO HAVE THE SURE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

"Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope, ["Elpida," (accusative)] =

iii_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:3-5]:

(v. 3) "We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope [Gk, "Elpidos", accusative] in our Lord Jesus Christ.

(v. 4) "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

(v. 5) because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake."

"Hope" = Gk, "Elpida", (accusative, 4:13), "Elpidos", (genitive, 1:3). Unlike the word "hope" in English which can be uncertain; "Elpida", "Elpidos' in NT Greek is a sure hope’ a certain expectation of fulfillment, in these two cases it has in view a certain hope "in our Lord Jesus Christ" through the "gospel" to provide eternal life, .

So believers have a sure hope available to them of eternal life, (1:3; 10; 4:17); of rescue from the coming wrath, (1:10); and of being present with the Lord at His Coming, (2:19; 3:13). The details of this hope are not in view in this verse but are presented in earlier verses in the epistle which will be reviewed shortly.

iv) PAUL ADDRESSES AN ISSUE STEMMING FROM THE THESSALONIAN BELIEVERS UNDERGOING SEVERE PERSECUTION AND DEATHS. THEY MISTOOK THIS PERSECUTION FOR THE FUTURE WRATH OF GOD, AND SINCE THEY HAD NOT BEEN RESCUED FROM THIS PERSECUTION BY THE COMING OF JESUS CHRIST, THEY GRIEVED LIKE THE REST OF MEN WHO HAVE NO SURE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." =

Paul addresses an issue stemming from the Thessalonian believers undergoing severe persecution and deaths. They mistook this persecution for the future wrath of God; and since they had not been rescued from this persecution by the coming of Jesus Christ, they grieved like the rest of men, (unbelievers), who have no sure hope of eternal life.

Believers are supposed to have a sure hope of eternal life, (1:10, 4:17); of being rescued from the coming wrath, (1:10); and of being present with the Lord at His Second Coming, (2:19, 3:13). Evidently the severe persecution the Thessalonian believers were undergoing which caused the death of some of their brothers in Christ, (1:6), caused them to question these hopes even to the point of thinking that the persecution was the coming wrath of God, out from which the Lord Jesus had not come to rescue them. As a result, they questioned their hope of eternal life, being rescued from the coming wrath and of being present with the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Coming, causing them to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope.

v) THE THESSALONIAN BELIEVERS WHO WERE GOING THROUGH SEVERE PERSECUTION WERE TOLD BY PAUL THAT THEIR HOPE IS IN JESUS, THAT HE WOULD RESCUE ALIVE BELIEVERS FROM THE COMING WRATH, AND ALL BELIEVERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE LORD AT HIS COMING - SO THEY SHOULD NOT GRIEVE LIKE UNBELIEVERS WHO HAVE NO SUCH HOPE

"Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." =

v_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:3-5]:

(v. 4) "For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

(v. 5) because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake."

"Hope" = Gk, "Elpida", (accusative, 4:13), "Elpidos", (genitive, 1:3) = Unlike the word "hope" in English which can be uncertain; "Elpida", "Elpidos' in NT Greek is a sure hope’ a certain expectation of fulfillment, in this case "in our Lord Jesus Christ" through the "gospel" to provide eternal life.

v_b) [Compare 1 Thes 1:6-10]:

(v. 6) "You [believers, (v. 3)] became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.

(v. 7) And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

(v. 8) The Lord's message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it,

(v. 9) for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

(v. 10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, Who. rescues us from the coming wrath."

v_c) [Compare 1 Thes 2:14-15]:

(v. 14) For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews,

(v. 15) who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men."

Previous to Paul telling the Thessalonian believers not to grieve like unbelievers who have no hope of eternal life, nor of rescue from the coming wrath, nor of being present with the Lord at His Second Coming, (v. 4:13); Paul acknowledged that the Thessalonian believers were going through severe suffering, (v. 1:6; 2:14-15); yet persevering through it with joy, (v. 1:6); commending them as a model of faithfulness for other believers, (vv. 1:7-8). He reminded them of their previous sure hope in Jesus of eternal life through the gospel, (1:3-5); their focus on waiting "for His [God's] Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath", (v. 1:10). Hence the coming wrath is still future and not to be identified with their current persecution, which they evidently were grieving about as if it were. They evidently thought that they had not been rescued and were like "the rest of men [unbelievers] who have no hope", (v. 4:13).

v_d) [Compare 1 Thes 2:19 KJV with 1 Thes 4:13]:

(2:19) "For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His appearing?"

(4:13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." =

Notice that the Thessalonian believers who were undergoing severe suffering, i.e., persecution (v. 1:6; 2:14-15), were commended and encouraged for their faithfulness, (vv. 1:6-9). They were reminded of the sure hope of eternal life, (1:3-5); that they would be rescued from the wrath to come, (v. 1:10); and be present with the Lord at His Second Coming, (v. 2:19). The context of the epistle implies that the severe persecution the Thessalonian believers were suffering from was not God's final earthly wrath which is portrayed as yet to come.

Previous to Paul telling the Thessalonian believers not to grieve like unbelievers who have no hope of eternal life, nor rescue from the coming wrath, nor being present with the Lord at His Coming, (v. 4:13); Paul acknowledged that the Thessalonian believers were going through severe suffering, (v. 1:6; 2:14-15); yet persevering through it with joy, (v. 1:6); commending them as a model of faithfulness for other believers, (vv. 1:7-8). He reminded them of their previous focus on waiting "for His [God's] Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath", (v. 1:10) and their "[sure] hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing. [Are] not even ye in the [accompanying] presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His [Second] Coming?"

Hence the coming wrath is still future and not to be identified with their current persecution, which they evidently were grieving about as if it were. They evidently thought that they had not been rescued and were like "the rest of men [unbelievers] who have no hope", (v. 4:13) and would not be present with the Lord at His Second Coming.

v_e) [Compare Renald E. Showers, 'MARANATHA, OUR LORD, COME!, Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Bellmawr, N.J., 1995, p. 198]:

"The word translated 'sorrow' [= grieve] means 'be sad, be distressed, grieve.' Paul's statement indicates that the Thessalonian believers were distressed over the fact that some of their fellow saints had died....

[and thereby they mistakenly thought they missed the victories and glory of the Lord's return for them in the Rapture].

***We should note two things concerning this distress and Paul's response to it.

First, if these church saints had been taught that the church must go through all or any part of the........Tribulation, with its intense outpouring of God's wrath, the logical reaction for them would have been to rejoice that these loved ones had escaped that great period of suffering' through death (cp. Job 3:11-26; Eccl. 4:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). There is, however, no indication that they found any reason to rejoice over the deaths of their fellow saints. This at least implies that they had not been taught that the church must go through all or any part of the Tribulation and experience God's wrath.

Second, the only means Paul used to relieve their distress over the deaths of their fellow saints was the truth of the future Rapture of the church. If these distressed saints had been taught that the church must go through all or any part of the Tribulation, why didn't Paul comfort them further with the additional fact that through their deaths, their fellow saints had escaped that future time of God's wrath?"

vi) BELIEVERS WHO ARE ALIVE ON THE EARTH WILL BE RESCUED FROM GOD'S FINAL WORLDWIDE EARTHLY WRATH BY PHYSICAL REMOVAL FROM THE EARTH AND INTO CHRIST'S PRESENCE. GOD'S ETERNAL WRATH IS NOT IN VIEW

(v. 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, who. rescues us from the coming wrath." (v. 4:13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." =

vi_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:8-10]:

(v. 8) "Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

(v. 9) For they themselves [believers everywhere] report what kind of reception you gave us [Paul, Silas and Timothy, (v. 1)]. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

(v. 10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath."

"Who rescues us from the coming wrath" =

"Ton ..........rhuomenon ..........hEmas appo tEs orgEs tEs erchomenEs."

"The One ..delivering .............us ........from the wrath .......coming."

The wrath in view is not an eternal wrath because it is not so described; rather it is described as an imminent one coming to the earth:

"And to wait [while on the earth] for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath", (v. 1:10). This coming wrath is portrayed in 1:10 as that which may occur during the Thessalonian believers' mortal lifetimes from which our Lord is coming to rescue those alive on the earth at that time. Believers in mortal bodies on the earth are therefore to wait to be rescued by Jesus from this coming wrath evidently to occur on the earth. Neither avoiding nor being protected from God's temporal wrath while remaining on the earth nor eternal wrath is what would be described as "being rescued from the coming wrath" which one would wait for Jesus on the earth to rescue them from. Eternal Wrath is not described as 'the coming wrath' to the earth. All those who are destined for Eternal Wrath will be brought to God's Judgment and subjected to it there. Furthermore, there have been and will be demonstrations of God's temporal wrath on the earth which may or may not be avoided by individuals on the earth. None of these demonstrations however are in view in 1:10 because avoidance or protection from wrath while remaining on the earth is not the same thing as having the Lord Jesus come to rescue one from it. The next notable wrath of God is not His eternal wrath, but His final temporal wrath on the earth. So God's final temporal wrath on the earth which those mortal believers alive at the time will be rescued from is in view.

Notice that the phrase "Who rescues [lit., "The One delivering] us from the coming wrath" is in view as opposed to being 'preserved' or 'protected from' the coming wrath. The word "rescues" has in view a physical removal of believers from the planet as opposed to remaining on it and being protected or preserved while still being exposed to God's wrath as it crashes all around them.

Being rescued from a burning building is not to remain in the building and stay exposed to the flames yet preserved from burning, but to be removed from the building entirely. Scripture describes God's final earthly wrath to consist of anarchy, fires, contamination of water and land, destruction of human, plant and animal life, earthquakes, volcanoes, wars, pestilence - all on a never before experienced worldwide scale from which one could not be rescued without removal from the planet.

Verses 1:8-10 address the sure hope of the rescue from God's final temporal wrath of believers who are alive on earth. From author Paul's perspective, this may or may not occur in the lifetime of the Thessalonian believers addressed by him in this epistle. The word "hope" in 4:13 refers not to "the rest of men" but to believers who will be rescued from the coming worldwide wrath by the Son of God. They wait for the Son of God to come from heaven to rescue them from exposure to that worldwide wrath. This implies a transformation into resurrection bodies and removal of the believers from the planet into Christ's presence until the wrath is over.

vii) TWO DIFFERENT APPEARANCES OF OUR LORD ARE INCLUDED IN THE SURE HOPE: (1) JESUS CHRIST WILL APPEAR IN THE CLOUDS ABOVE THE EARTH TO RESCUE BELIEVERS FROM GOD'S FINAL WRATH ON THE EARTH BY PHYSICAL REMOVAL TO REMAIN WITH HIM FOREVER. (2) JESUS CHRIST IN HIS SECOND COMING WILL THEREAFTER ARRIVE WITH THE RESCUED BELIEVERS ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH TO END THE WRATH AND BEGIN THE REIGN OF HIS KINGDOM

vii_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:10]:

(v. 10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath."

vii_b) [Compare 1 Thes 2:19 KJV]:

"For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His appearing?"

"Tis ....gar hEmOn elpis E ..chara E ..stephanos kauchEseOs E ..ouchi .....kai

"What for. is our ....here or .joy ....or .crown ......boasting? .....Or .are not .even

humeis emprosthen ...........tou kuriou hEmOn iEsou en tE autou parousia

you ......before ...........................Lord....our .......Jesus .at.......His ...appearing, Coming.

............in the presence of

Two different appearances of our Lord are included in the believer's sure hope: (1) Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds above the earth to rescue believers from God's final wrath on the earth by physical removal to remain with Him forever. (2) Jesus Christ in his Second Coming will thereafter arrive with the rescued believers onto the surface of the earth to end the wrath and begin the reign of His kingdom.

Notice that verse 1:10 stipulates that Jesus is coming to rescue believers from the coming worldwide earthly wrath before His Second Coming to the surface of the earth implying transformation into resurrection bodies and removal of the believers from the planet bringing them into and keeping them in His presence until the wrath is over. On the other hand at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to the surface of the earth in 2:19, believers will already be in His presence which is stipulated as their "hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing".

vii_c) [Compare 1 Thes 3:13]:

"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."

"all His saints" = Gk, "hagios", "lit. "set apart ones" in this context, to Jesus Christ, believers

vii_d) [Compare 2 Thes 1:10]:

"When He [Jesus Christ] comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed - for our testimony to you was believed.'

Notice that saints in 2 Thes 1:10 are identified as 'all who have believed.'

So 1 Thes 1:10 depicts a coming, (Gk = "parousia" = lit., an appearing) of Jesus Christ wherein believers who are physically alive on the earth at the time are awaiting His appearing "in the clouds" and "in the air." Evidently, He does not come to the surface of the earth, (compare v. 4:17). Believers are not yet in His presence when He appears at this time. He will then rescue them from the coming wrath on the earth by bringing them into His presence in the clouds above the earth and back to heaven with Him until it is time for His Second Coming to the surface of the earth.

Furthermore, verse 2:19 indicates that believers after this will be present with the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to touch down upon the earth at His Second Coming. Evidently they have been in His presence since they were rescued, (1:10). Verse 3:13 also had in view the Second Coming of our Lord to the surface of the earth already with the saints who are accompanying Him as He comes from heaven to the earth. Evidently the saints were in His presence at this Coming beforehand, having already been rescued and brought into His presence before the wrath began, (1:10). Hence we have a Second Coming to the surface of the earth to end the wrath which began after His previous appearing to rescue the saints from the earth by removing them from the earth to remain in His presence until the wrath is ended. The Second Coming of our Lord must be a coming a second time as He came the first time: to the surface of the earth. Hence the stopping in the clouds to gather up the saints in the air to rescue believers from the coming wrath, (v. 4:17), we must conclude is a different kind of coming' as were His appearances, i.e., comings to the earth in OT times, which were not as the incarnate Son of God. This will be corroborated later in the passage in 4:13-18.

So we have two different comings of our Lord:

One without believers stopping in the clouds above to rescue them the coming wrath on the earth.

One with believers accompanying Him as He goes down to the surface of the earth to express the final wrath of God on unbelievers and begin His reign.

viii) THE THESSALONIAN BELIEVERS ARE REMINDED OF THE SURE HOPE OF RESCUE FROM THE COMING WRATH IN ORDER NOT TO MISCONSTRUE THE SEVERE PERSECUTION THEY WERE UNDER FOR GOD'S FINAL WRATH. THEY HAD CONCLUDED THAT THEY HAD MISSED BEING RESCUED FROM THE COMING WRATH

(v. 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath." (v. 4:13) Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." =

The Thessalonian believers are reminded of the sure hope of rescue from the coming of God's final wrath on the earth for a number of reasons not the least of which is in order that they not misconstrue the severe persecution they were currently under for God's final wrath and then conclude they had missed this rescue and perhaps even that they were not saved at all. Note that this reminder is effective if indeed they are physically alive at the commencement of God's final earthly wrath. History indicates they will not be physically alive at that time, in view of the number of years that have gone by.

b) [(1 Thes 4:13-14) Commentary On 1 Thes 4:13-14]:

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

(v. 14) We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

i) PAUL TELLS THE THESSALONIAN BELIEVERS NOT TO GRIEVE LIKE THE REST OF MEN WHO HAVE NO HOPE. BELIEVERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE LORD AT HIS SECOND COMING AND THUS HAVE ETERNAL LIFE: THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP AND THOSE WHO REMAIN ALIVE

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. (v. 14) We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

Paul continues to address the point he started in v. 13 when he said, "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope" by stipulating, "We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him." So Paul tells the Thessalonian believers that those who have fallen asleep in Him, i.e., believers who have died, will be with Jesus Christ accompanying Him at His Second Coming; hence they have been saved unto eternal life and by inference so shall all believers. Evidently the Second Coming is in view wherein believers who have been previously rescued from the coming wrath now accompany him to the earth.

The statement "we believe that Jesus died and rose again" affirms that He has the power, the omnipotent power of God, which then affirms His capacity to fulfill the next statement, "and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

Paul's confidence that this statement is true is backed up by an even greater truth: "We believe that Jesus died and rose again," i.e., the power of salvation unto eternal life, (the gospel), is true; so much the more, then, is it true "that God will bring Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him;" i.e., that believers who have died in Christ will accompany Him at His Second Coming evidencing their eternal destiny of eternal life in Christ. So believers who are alive are not to "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."

c) [(1 Thes 4:13-18) Commentary On 1 Thes 4:13-18]:

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.

(v. 14) We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him."

(v. 15) According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

(v. 16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

(v. 17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

(1 Thes 4:18 NKJV) Therefore comfort one another with these words."

i) THE LORD SPOKE OF BELIEVERS BEING CAUGHT UP TO HIM

"According to the Lord's own word" = Evidently the Lord had spoken of what is described here relative to His coming to rescue believers from the coming wrath by catching them up in the clouds from the surface of the earth.

ii) PAUL ASSURES THAT BELIEVERS ALIVE AND ASLEEP IN CHRIST WILL TAKE PART IN EVENTS AT THE PARTICULAR APPEARANCE OF OUR LORD TO RESCUE THEM WHO ARE ALIVE AT THE TIME FROM THE COMING WRATH ON THE EARTH

"According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep." =

ii_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:10]:

(v. 10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, Who. rescues us from the coming wrath."

Paul is evidently addressing the Thessalonian believers' concern for their fellow believers who have died to assure them that the those alseep and alive in Christ will be included in the events at the appearance of the Lord to rescue the believers alive on the earth from the coming wrath and to bring all believers into His presence.

iii) COMMENCING WITH THE ARCHANGEL'S LOUD COMMAND AND THE TRUMPET CALL OF GOD THE COMING OF THE LORD TO RESCUE BELIEVERS IS TO COMMENCE FROM HEAVEN, WHEREUPON THE DEAD IN CHRIST RISE FIRST, THEN ALIVE BELIEVERS WITH THEM WILL BE CAUGHT UP TO MEET THE LORD IN THE CLOUDS IN THE AIR TO BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER

(v. 15) "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (v. 16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (v. 17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (v. 18 NKJV) Therefore comfort one another with these words." =

iii_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:10]:

(v. 10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, Who.rescues us from the coming wrath."

Commencing with the archangel's loud command and the trumpet call of God the coming of the Lord for believers, to rescue them from the coming wrath, (1:10), is to commence from heaven, whereupon the dead in Christ rise first, then alive believers with them will be caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds in the air to be with the Lord forever.

iv) BELIEVERS WHO ARE ALIVE ON THE EARTH AND THOSE WHO ARE ASLEEP WILL BE CAUGHT UP FROM THE EARTH INTO CHRIST'S PRESENCE INTO THE CLOUDS IN THE AIR - EVIDENTLY AS A RESCUE FROM THE COMING WRATH - THIS IS NOT THE SECOND COMING

(v. 1:10) "and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead--Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (v. 4:15) "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (v. 4:16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (v. 4:17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (v. 4:18 NKJV) Therefore comfort one another with these words."

" =

Nothing is stipulated in v. 4:17 as to the Lord touching down upon the earth, nor bringing believers from heaven to earth, (v. 3:13), nor ending the wrath in His Second Coming.

On the other hand, the opposite is in view in 4:17: catching up of believers from the earth into the clouds in the air to be brought for the first time into His presence to rescue them from the coming wrath, (cf. v. 1:10).

Evidently the appearing in 4:17 is the rescue of believers from the coming wrath which includes resurrection of believers who are asleep in the Lord. Neither alive nor dead in Christ believers are in the Lord's presence when he appears to rescue them. On the other hand, 1 Thess 3:13 stipulates that believers accompany Him in this Second Coming. So the appearing in 4:17 is not the Lord's Second Coming, for believers were not yet present with Him.

iv_a) [Compare 1 Thes 1:8-10]:

(v. 8) "Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

(v. 10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead - Jesus, Who rescues us from the coming wrath."

"Who rescues us from the coming wrath" =

"Ton ..........rhuomenon ..........hEmas appo tEs orgEs tEs erchomenEs."

"The One ..delivering .............us ........from the wrath .......coming."

The wrath in view is not an eternal wrath because it is not so described; rather it is described as an imminent one coming to the earth:

Furthermore, there have been and will be demonsrations of God's temporal wrath on the earth which may or may not be avoided by individuals on the earth. None of these demonstrations however are in view in 1:10 because avoidance or protection from wrath while remaining on the earth is not the same thing as having the Lord Jesus come to rescue one from it. The next notable wrath of God is not His eternal wrath, but His final temporal wrath on the earth. So God's final temporal wrath on the earth which those mortal believers alive at the time will be rescued from is in view.

Verses 1:8-10 address the sure hope of the rescue from God's final temporal wrath of believers who are alive on earth which in Paul's perspective may or may not occur in the lifetime of the Thessalonian believers addressed by him in this epistle, before the final earthly wrath of God share. This is what the word "hope" was referring to in 4:13 wherein believers but not "the rest of men" will be rescued from the coming worldwide wrath on the earth by the Son of God for Whom they wait to come from heaven to rescue them from exposure to that worldwide wrath. This implies a transformation into resurrection bodies and removal of the believers from the planet into Christ's presence until the wrath is over. This is affirmed in vv. 4:13-17 in view of mortal believers being caught up into the clouds in the air, an uninhabitable location unless there were such a transformation.

iv_b) [Compare 1 Thes 2:19 KJV]:

"For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His appearing?"

"Tis ....gar hEmOn elpis E ..chara E ..stephanos kauchEseOs E ..ouchi .....kai

"What for. is our ....here or .joy ....or .crown ......boasting? .....Or .are not .even

humeis emprosthen ...........tou kuriou hEmOn iEsou en tE autou parousia

you ......before ...........................Lord....our .......Jesus .at.......His ...appearing, Coming.

............in the presence of

Notice that at the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in 2:19, believers will already be in His presence which is stipulated as their "hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing." On the other hand, verse 1:10 previously stipulated that Jesus is coming to rescue believers from the coming worldwide earthly wrath implying transformation into resurrection bodies and removal of the believers from the planet bringing them into and keeping them in His presence until the wrath is over. After this our Lord returns in His Second Coming to the surface of the earth with church age believers who will ever be in His presence.

iv_c) [Compare 1 Thes 3:13]:

"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."

"all His saints" = Gk, "hagios", "lit. "set apart ones" in this context, to Jesus Christ, believers

So 1 Thes 1:10 depicts a coming, (Gk = "parousia" = lit., an appearing) of Jesus Christ wherein believers who are physically alive on the earth at the time are awaiting His appearing "in the clouds" and "in the air", evidently not on the surface of the earth, (v. 4:17), and not yet in His presence - at which time when He comes, He will rescue them from the coming wrath and bring them into His presence.

Verse 2:19 indicates that believers will be present with the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to touch down upon the earth at His Second Coming. Evidently they have been in His presence since they were rescued, (1:10). Then in verse 3:13 we have in view the Second Coming of our Lord to the surface of the earth already with the saints who are accompanying Him as He comes from heaven to the earth. Evidently the saints were in His presence at this Coming beforehand, having already been rescued and brought into His presence before the wrath began, (1:10). Hence we have a Second Coming to end the wrath which began after His previous appearing to rescue the saints from the earth by removing them from the earth to remain in His presence until the wrath is ended. Since a Coming of our Lord a second time directly to the earth as He did the first time is defined as His Second Coming, then we might conclude that the coming of our Lord to rescue believers from the coming wrath is a different kind of coming, as were His appearances, i.e., comings to the earth in OT times, and was not directly to the earth as corroborated later in the passage in 4:13-18.

****** EXCERPT FROM STUDY ON THE RAPTURE ******

(biblestudymanuals.net/1thes4v18.htm)

I) [1 Thes 4:13]:

(v. 13) "Brothers we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope."

H) "LIKE THE REST OF MEN WHO HAVE NO HOPE" = "HOPE" = "ELIPDA" = REFERS TO THE SURE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE AND THE ACCOMPANYING RESURRECTION WITHOUT BEING SUBJECT TO THE WRATH OF GOD

1) [Compare 1 Pet 1:3-4]:

(v. 3) "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(v. 4) and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you."

[Notice that the inheritance of the new birth, i.e., eternal life is a "living hope" - "that can never perish, spoil or fade - kept in heaven for you"]

2) [Compare 1 Jn 5:13]:

"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

[Notice that one can be assured, i.e., have a sure hope of ones eternal destiny simply by affirming what John has written in the bible i.e., those "who believe in the name of the Son of God" may have a sure hope that they have eternal life]

3) [Compare Titus 2:11-13]:

(v. 11) "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

(v. 12) It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

(v. 13) while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

"The blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" = So the glorious appearing of our Lord for the believer is a blessed hope - no eternal wrath to befall God's child.

4) [Compare 1 Thes 5:9]:

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."
So the believer's hope is assuredly one of salvation and never one of falling into temporal or eternal wrath.

5) [Compare Rev 3:9-10]:

(v. 9) "I [Jesus, (v. 7)] will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars - I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.....

[and continuing the thought]:

(v. 10a) since you have kept My command to endure patiently.

[Then a new thought begins which refers to the church saints not being subject to the wrath of the Tribulation period]:

(v. 10b) I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth."

Notice that the believer will be kept from the hour of trial giving him a blessed and sure hope for the future and not a fearful one.

I) THE SURE HOPE OF THE BELIEVER INCLUDES THE FACT THAT HE WILL NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE WRATH OF THE FUTURE DAY OF THE LORD, I.E., THE TRIBULATION PERIOD

1) INTRODUCTION

Since 1 Thes 5:9 and Rev 3:10 both state that believers of the church age will not be subject to wrath. (And these passages do state that church age believers will not be subject to wrath)

and since Titus 2:13 says:

"While we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (And it does)

then the doctrine that the church has to go through the tribulation and be decimated by the catastrophes and judgments that occur leaving only a fraction of the world's population surviving with many church age believers martyred is false.

It is difficult to support the concept that the CHURCH AGE believer's "blessed hope" is that of being subject to God's wrath while waiting for the Lord's return, thus having to go through the tribulation until He comes at the end. Believers of the church age await the Lord's return for them when He will meet them in the air BEFORE the tribulation begins, (1 Thes 4:13-18; 2 Thes 2:1-4; 5:1-9). This is what Paul refers to as the "blessed hope" of the church age believer, (Titus 2:13).

2) THE BLESSED HOPE OF THE BELIEVER IS THAT HE WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO THE WRATH OF THE FUTURE DAY OF THE LORD

a) THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD IN GENERAL

[Showers, op. cit., pp. 30-39]:

"The Scriptures teach that God created the universe for His own purposes (Rev 4:11). As a result, the heavenly and earthly realms are owned and ruled by God (1 Chr 29:11-12; 2 Chr 20:6; Ps 47:2; 103:19; 135:6; Isa 40:12-26; Jer 10:1, 10; Dan 4:17, 34-35, 37; Acts 17:24; 1 Tim 1:17; Rev 5:13). As the owner and ruler of the earth, God has His own sovereign purpose for world history and, therefore, for specific events within that history (Isa 14:24-27; 19:12; 23:9; 46:8-11; Jer 4:28; 23:20; 26:3; 30:24; 36:3; 49:20; 50:45; 51:29; Lam 2:8; Rom 8:28; 9:11, 17; Eph 1:9-11; 3:10-11; 2 Tim 1:9; 1 Jn 3:8).

In the Scriptures the expression 'the Day of the LORD' (together with other synonymous expressions, such as 'that day,' 'the day of God,' etc.) is strongly related to God's rule of the earth and, therefore, to His sovereign purpose for world history and specific events within that history. The Day of the LORD refers to God's special interventions into the course of world events to judge His enemies, accomplish His purpose for history, and thereby demonstrate who He is - the sovereign God of the universe (Isa 2:10-22; Ezek 13:5, 9, 14, 21, 23; 30:3, 8, 19, 25-26)....

Evidence for this significance of the Day of the LORD is found in past Days of the Lord referred to in the Scriptures. The Bible indicates that there have been several Days of the Lord in the past in which God demonstrated His sovereign rule by raising up several nations to execute His judgment on other nations. He raised up Assyria to judge the northern kingdom of Israel during the 700s B.C. (Amos 5:18, 20), Babylon to judge the southern kingdom of Judah during the 600s and 500s B.C. (Lam 1:12; 2:1, 21-22; Ezek 7:19; 13:5; Zeph 2:2-3), Babylon to judge Egypt and its allies during the 500s B.C. (Jer 46:10; Ezek 30:3), and Medo-Persia to judge Babylon during the 500s B.C. (Isa 13:6, 9)...

In these past Days of the Lord, God used human instruments and activity through war to execute His sovereign purpose against His enemies.

b) THE DAY OF THE LORD IN THE FUTURE

i) INTRODUCTION

[2 Thes 2:1-2]:

(v. 1) "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers,

["the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him" = the coming of the Lord to gather His church up to Him in the heavens in the Rapture which event precedes the Day of the LORD, the Tribulation period]

(v. 2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us saying that the Day of the LORD has already come."

"the Day of the LORD" = refers to that particular part of the Day of the LORD beginning with the birth pangs of the Tribulation period.

[Showers, cont.]:

"The Scriptures indicated that the concept of the Day of the LORD is applicable, not only to the past intervention of God in history, but also to the future. Several things in the Bible make this very obvious. First, Isaiah 2:10-22 describes a Day of the LORD that will involve the sixth seal described by the Apostle John in Revelation 6:12-17. Because this sixth seal will take place during the 70th week of Daniel 9, the Day of the LORD that will involve that seal must also take place during that future time period.

Second, Isaiah 34:1-8 and Obadiah 15 describe a Day of the LORD when God will judge all nations or Gentiles of the world. None of the past Days of the Lord involved divine judgment of all the nations. Up to this point in history, there has not been a judgment of all nations during the same time period. In light of this, we can conclude that the Day of the LORD of Isaiah 34 and Obadiah must be future.

Third, Joel 3:1-13 and Zechariah 14:1-3, 12-15 refer to a Day of the LORD that will involve God's judgment of the armies of all the nations of the world, when those armies gather in Israel to wage war against that nation and the city of Jerusalem and when the Messiah comes to war against them. According to Revelation 16:12-16, those armies will not begin to gather until the sixth bowl is poured out during the 70th week of Daniel 9. In addition, Revelation 19:11-21 indicates that Christ will wage war against them when He comes from heaven to earth. This, too, forces the conclusion that the Day of the LORD of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 is future.

Fourth, in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 the Apostle Paul referred to a Day of the LORD that was future beyond the time when he wrote his epistle and that would bring sudden, inescapable destruction upon the unsaved of the world. That Day of the LORD had not taken place before Paul wrote his Thessalonian epistle, and it seems evident that nothing of its nature has transpired since. Thus, the Day of the LORD of 1 Thessalonians 5 is also future.

ii) THE FUTURE DAY OF THE LORD: WRATH THEN BLESSING

[Showers, cont.]:

"The Scriptures indicate that the future Day of the LORD will have at least a twofold nature. First, it will be characterized by darkness and a tremendous outpouring of divine wrath upon the world....

[Joel 2:1-2]:

(v. 1) "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand -

(v. 2) a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come."

[Amos 5:18-20]

(v. 18) "Woe to you who long for the Day of the LORD! Why do you long for the Day of the LORD? That Day will be darkness, not light.

(v. 19) It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.

(v. 20) Will not the Day of the LORD be darkness, not light - pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?"

[Zech 1:14-15]:

(v. 14) "Then the angel who was speaking to me said, 'Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,

(v. 15) but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.' "

[1 Thes 5:1-11]:

(v. 1) "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,

(v. 2) for you know very well that the Day of the LORD will come like a thief in the night.

(v. 3) While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

(v. 4) But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

(v. 5) You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

(v. 6) So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

(v. 7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

(v. 8) But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

(v. 9) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(v. 10) He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.

(v. 11) Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

Amos 5:18-20 emphasizes that this will be the total nature of the Day of the LORD for God's enemies. It will bring no divine light or blessing to them. This will be the nature of the Day of the LORD during the 70th week of Daniel.

Second, the Day of the LORD will also be characterized by light, an outpouring of divine blessing, and the administration of God's rule. The Prophet Joel, after talking about the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars and God's Day of the LORD judgment of the armies of the nations gathered in Israel (3:9-16), foretold great divine blessing 'in that day' (vv. 17-21)......

[Joel 3:9-21]:

(v. 9) "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

(v. 10) Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, 'I am strong!'

(v. 11) Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD!

(v. 12) Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

(v. 13) Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow - so great is their wickedness!

(v. 14) Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

(v. 15) The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

(v. 16) The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

(v. 17) Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, My holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

[Then final restoration. Full kingdom blessing]:

(v. 18) In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias.

(v. 19) But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

(v. 20 Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.

(v. 21) Their blood guilt, which I have not pardoned, I will pardon. The LORD dwells in Zion!"

In addition, the Prophet Zechariah, after discussing the future Day of the LORD, when all nations will war against Jerusalem and the Messiah will come to the earth part of 'that day' will be characterized by darkness, the latter part will be characterized by light (vv. 6-7), great blessing (v. 8), and God's rule over all the earth (v. 9). This will be the nature of the Day of the LORD during the Millennium....

Thus, the Day of the LORD in the future will be at least twofold in nature. Just as each day of creation and the Jewish day consisted of two phases - a time of darkness ('evening') followed by a time of light ('day') [Gen 1:4-6] - so the future Day of the LORD will consist of two phases, a period of darkness (judgment) followed by a period of light (divine rule and blessing).

Since, as noted earlier, the Day of the LORD will demonstrate Who God is, it would seem strange for the God Who is light and in Whom there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5) to have His day consist totally of darkness with no period of light, especially since the present day of Satan and rebellious mankind is characterized by a rule of darkness (Eph 6:12; Col 1:13).

In addition, since, as shall be seen later, the present day of Satan and rebellious mankind involves their rule of the world system, the future Day of the LORD would not truly be His day if it did not involve His rule of the world system during the Millennium. How could the Day of the LORD fully demonstrate Who He is - the sovereign God of the universe - without the sovereign exercise of His rule in visible form over the entire world?"

iii) THE BACKGROUND OF THE FUTURE DAY OF THE LORD

[Showers, cont.]:

"Why has the Holy Spirit chosen to use the expression 'the Day of the LORD' for God's divine interventions into the course of world events to judge His enemies, accomplish His purpose for world history, and demonstrate Who He is - the sovereign God of the universe? Some background is necessary to understand the reason.

After God created mankind, He gave them dominion over everything on planet earth (Gen 1:26, 28; Ps 8:3-9). This indicates that God intended mankind to serve as His representative, administering His rule over the earthly province of His universal domain. In other words, God designed the government of the earth to be a theocracy, a form of government in which He is the sovereign Ruler of the earth; but His rule is administered through an Adam, a human representative.

As a result of Satan's convincing the first Adam to rebel against God and His rule, God's theocratic kingdom rule over the world system was lost (Gen 3). Through Adam's rebellion, Satan usurped the rule of the world system away from God (Lk 4:5-6; Jn 14:30; 1 Jn 5:19). Since that time, Satan and rebellious mankind have been dominating the world system according to their own thoughts and ways (Isa 55:7-9). They have been having their day in the world during which they try to establish and assert their own sovereignty and deity.

In light of what has happened, God's purpose for world history is to glorify Himself by demonstrating that He alone is the sovereign God. To accomplish this purpose, He has determined to have His day in the end times of world history (Isa 2:10-22).

Several times in the past, God has broken into the day of Satan and mankind with the interventions of Days of the Lord that were noted earlier. He did this to accomplish an immediate divine purpose (namely, the disruption, frustration, or destruction of some plan, purpose, or accomplishment of Satan and rebellious mankind), to graphically remind them that God is still the ultimate sovereign over the earth and universe, and to give them a foretaste or forewarning of the ultimate Day of the LORD that will come at the end of world history.

The future Day of the LORD will be far more significant that those days of the past. Its first phase will be a period of unprecedented, concentrated judgment involving the 70th week of Daniel and the coming of Christ after that week. In this phase God, Who throughout most of history has permitted Satan and rebellious mankind to have their day, will suddenly intervene to destroy their rule over the world system, evict them from the earth, and thereby end their day in the world (Isa 42:13-14; Rev 6-19). This phase will be characterized by darkness and an intense outpouring of God's wrath.

The second phase will be a period of divine dominion over the world system. God will intervene to restore and exercise His theocratic-kingdom rule over the world through the last Adam, Jesus Christ (Zech 14:1-9; 1 Cor 15:45, 47; Rev 20:1-6). This phase will be characterized by light and an outpouring of God's blessing.

iv) THE BROAD AND NARROW SENSE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

[Showers, cont.]:

"We have seen that the Day of the LORD will have a twofold nature and, therefore, two phases [a wrath then a blessing phase]. In addition, we should note that the biblical expression 'the Day of the LORD' has a double sense (broad and narrow) in relationship to the future....

...Just as the word 'day' in Genesis 1:5 has both a broad sense (a 24-hour day)....

[Gen 1:5]:

"And the evening and the morning were the first day

[...and a narrow sense (the light part of a 24-hour day in contrast with the darkness part]

And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night."

...so the expression 'the Day of the LORD' has both a broad and a narrow sense in relationship to the future...

The broad sense refers to an extended period of time involving divine interventions related at least to the 70th week of Daniel [of 7 years of God's wrath] and the thousand-year Millennium [of God's blessing].... [A total of 1,007 years from the Rapture point of it's then beginning to the end of the 1,000 year millennial rule and the beginning of Eternity Future]

...The narrow sense refers to one specific day - the day on which Christ will return to the earth from heaven with His angels...."

[Compare Mt 24:29-30]:

(v. 29) "Immediately after the distress of those days 'the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

(v. 30) At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."

[Compare Zep 1:14-18]:

(v. 14) "The great day of the LORD is near - near and coming quickly.

Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there.

(v. 15) That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

(v. 16) a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.

(v. 17) I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth.

(v. 18) "Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth."

[Compare Zech 14:1-9]:

(v. 1) A day of the LORD is coming when our plunder will be divided among you.

(v. 2) I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captures, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

(v. 3) Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

(v. 4) On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

(v. 5) You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Usaiah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and the holy ones with Him.

(v. 6) In that day there will be no light, no cold or frost,

(v. 7) It will be a unique day, without daytime or night time - a day known to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light.

(v. 8) On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter.

(v. 9) The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and His name the only name."

v) EVIDENCE FOR THE NARROW SENSE OF THE DAY OF THE LORD

[Showers, cont.]:

"The fact that the Scriptures present a future Day of the LORD that will be narrowed or limited to one specific day is evident from the following combination of facts.

[Rev 16:12-16]:

(v. 12) "The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.

(v. 13) Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

(v. 14) They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great Day of God Almighty.

(v. 15) 'Behold, I come like a thief! [=the Lord's Second Coming, (1 Thes 5:2)] Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.'

(v. 16) Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon."

Revelation 16:12-16 [as quoted above] indicates that the armies of all the nations of the world will not begin to gather in Israel for Armageddon until the sixth bowl is poured out. We should note that the pouring out of the sixth bowl and the resultant gathering of the armies will take place after a significant part of the broad Day of the LORD has already run it course.

[Joel 3:9-16]:

(v. 9) "Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

(v. 10) Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, 'I am strong!'

(v. 11) Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD!

(v. 12) Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

(v. 13) Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and vats overflow - so great is their wickedness!

(v. 14) Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

(v. 15) The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

(v. 16) The LORD will roar from Zion and the thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel."

[Compare Zech 14:1-5]:

(v. 1) "A Day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you.

(v. 2) I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.

(v. 3) Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of the battle.

[Notice: 'day of the battle']

(v. 5) You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him."

Second, both Joel 3:9-16 and Zechariah 14:1-5 [quoted above] indicate that after the armies of the nations have gathered in Israel, 'the Day of the LORD cometh' and is 'near.' It is obvious from the language that this Day of the LORD will not take place until after the armies have gathered in Israel.

Since the Day of the LORD of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will not take place until after the armies have gathered in Israel, and since the armies will not begin to gather until after a significant part of the broad Day has run its course, another Day of the LORD will be yet to come.

This other Day will be one part of the broad Day of the LORD, but there is a genuine sense in which it will be a complete Day of the LORD on its own, different from the broad Day of the LORD. One difference will be its duration. As noted earlier, the broad Day will cover an extended period of time. By contrast, the Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 Day will be narrow or limited in time. Thus, there will be two future Days of the LORD.

Third, both Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 indicate that their Day of the LORD will be the specific time when the Messiah comes to fight against and destroy the armies gathered in Israel. Revelation 19:11-21 says that time will be when Christ comes from heaven to the earth. Thus, the narrow Day of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will be the day on which Christ comes to the earth."

vi) THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD = THE NARROW DAY OF THE LORD

[Showers, op. cit., pp. 36-37]:

"We should note that Joel 3:14-15 indicates that the sun, moon, and stars will be darkened when the narrow Day of the LORD is near. Those heavenly bodies will be darkened before the narrow Day comes. Joel 2:31 declares that the heavenly bodies will be darkened before 'the great and terrible day of the LORD come.' It is obvious from this that Joel 3 and 2 are referring to the same Day of the LORD. We can conclude, then, that the narrow Day of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 is to be identified with the great and terrible Day of the LORD - the day on which Christ will come to the earth.....

In light of what we have seen, we should not that the Scriptures apply the expression 'the great and terrible day of the LORD' to the narrow Day, not the broad Day. The implication is that the narrow Day will differ from the rest of the broad Day, not only in duration, but also in significance. Although the earlier part of the judgment phase of the broad Day will involve a great outpouring of divine wrath upon the domain of Satan and mankind, the narrow Day will be the grand climax of that judgment phase. Thus, E. W. Bullinger, when referring to the Day of the LORD of Joel 2:31, said, 'It is called '''the great and terrible day of the LORD,' as though it were the climax of the whole period known as '''the day of the LORD.''' '

Along similar lines, C. F. Keil, when referring to the judgment of the narrow Day of Joel 3, declared, 'It is the last decisive judgment, in which all the single judgments find their end.'

The narrow Day will be the great and terrible Day of the LORD because, in contrast with the earlier part of the judgment phase of the broad Day, the narrow Day will involve the coming of Christ from heaven to the earth. It therefore will do several things. It will expose God's enemies to the actual presence of Christ and the fullness of His divine power and glory, judgment and warfare (Mt 24:29-30; 25:31; Rev 19:11-12, 15). It will bring the angelic armies of heaven against these enemies (Mt 13:40-42, 49-50; 25:31; Rev 19:14). It will end the rule of Satan and rebellious mankind over the world system and evict them from the earth (Mt 13:40-42, 49-50; 25:41, 46; Lk 17:26-37; Rev 19:17-20:3), thus ending their day on earth forever.

Because the narrow Day of the LORD will bring such a decisive, permanent change to the world, the Prophet Joel called the place where the grand climax of God's judgment will fall on Satan and rebellious mankind 'the valley of decision' (3:14).....

vii) SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NARROW VS THE BROAD DAY OF THE LORD

[Showers, cont.]:

"There are at least two significant implications of the fact that there will be both a broad Day of the LORD and a narrow Day of the LORD.

Since, as noted earlier, the narrow Day of Joel 3 and Zechariah 14 will take place after a significant part of the broad Day has already run its course, and since that narrow Day will be the day on which Christ comes to the earth, we can conclude that Christ will come to the earth after a significant part of the broad Day has already run its course, after a major part of God's wrath has been poured out upon the world. It will not take place before or at the beginning of the outpouring of God's wrath upon the world.

Second... the expression 'the great and terrible day of the LORD' of Joel 2:31 refers to the narrow Day when Christ will come to the earth....

The Prophet Malachi (4:5) referred to the same great and terrible Day of the LORD as Joel (Malachi used identically the same Hebrew words and constructions that Joel used for the great and terrible Day of the LORD in 2:31)....

[So] Malachi's great and terrible Day of the LORD is also the narrow Day, the day on which Christ will come after the 70th week [has transpired]....

Malachi declared that God will send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible Day of the LORD (4:5).

Since Malachi was referring to the narrow Day, we can conclude that he was indicating that God will send Elijah before the narrow Day, not before the broad Day when God begins to pour out His wrath upon the world. In light of the meaning of the great and terrible Day of the LORD, Malachi's declaration leaves room for Elijah to come and minister after the broad Day has begun and, therefore, while the wrath of God is being poured out upon the world."

b) THE DAY OF THE LORD IN THE FUTURE, cont.

viii) [Compare 2 Thes 2:1-4]:

(v. 1) "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him [in the Rapture], we ask you, brothers,

(v. 2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report of letter supposed to have come from us saying that the Day of the LORD has already come.

(v. 3) Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the "apostasia" [= standing away] occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

(v. 4) He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God"

Paul is answering in this passage whether or not the Tribulation period had already begun. Notice the mention of the deceptive teaching referred to in vv. 2-3 which was falsely attributed to Paul. Paul's answer is 'No, the Tribulation has not yet begun', and he gives two reasons for this in verse 3 - the first being that the "apostasia" has not yet occurred and the second: the man of lawlessness, i.e., the Antichrist has not yet been revealed to the world:

"The day [of God's wrath in the Tribulation period] will not come until 'he apostasia' occurs" =

viii_1) THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL NOT OCCUR UNTIL THE 'APOSTASIA' OCCURS

viii_1_a) DERIVATION & AVAILABLE MEANINGS OF APOSTASIA, APOSTASION

The noun "he apostasia" = in this precise form is a feminine noun. It is used nowhere else in the New Testament, so its meaning must be defined by its context here. It is derived from two Greek words, apo (meaning "away from" ) and stasis (meaning "standing"). It could properly be rendered "standing away" in the sense of a physical departure, rather than falling away from religious convictions in the sense of the English word apostasy.

The noun "he apostasia" comes from the verb aphistemi meaning to go away, depart. It can mean "the falling away" = as in "the apostasy" or "the rebellion", or it can mean "the standing away" as in the Rapture. This word "apostasia" is used in only one other place in the Bible, Acts 21:21. The meaning there is to turn away from, depart from. "He apostasia" has commonly been transliterated as "the apostasy".

"Apostasion" = neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of afisthmi = something separative, i.e. (specially) divorce:--(writing of) divorcement.

[http://www.zianet.com/maxey/Down7.htm#Apostasion]:

"Apostasion is a compound formed by the joining of two separate Greek words. The preposition apo (from, away from) is added as a prefix to stasis, which means “a standing, a state, existence.” It imparts to the reader the idea of “standing off from” someone or something. When used with reference to the state of marriage, it bespeaks a state of existence in which there is a “standing away from” one another. The “one flesh” state of being between a man and woman is severed; their lives are no longer intertwined; they have parted company, and each stands separately and apart from the other. Generally, apostasion is used in conjunction with the word biblion (scroll, document, certificate), and the resultant phrase is most often translated “certificate of divorce.” It was, thus, an official document signifying the termination of a covenant of marriage between a husband and wife. From a legal perspective, they would thereafter be recognized as existing in a state separate and apart from one another; a state of union was no longer regarded as existing. This particular word appears only 3 times within the pages of the New Testament documents [Matthew 5:31; 19:7; Mark 10:4]. In the Septuagint it can be found in Deuteronomy 24:3,5; Isaiah 50:1; and Jeremiah 3:8."

viii_1_b) BIBLICAL USAGE OF APOSTASIA, APOSTASION

[William W. Combs, "Is Apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 a reference to the Rapture",http://www.dbts.edu/media/journals/1998/combs.pdf]:

"The translation [of "apostasia" is some versions which is] 'departing' does not give any more credence to the Rapture view since the English word departing can be used in both a spatial and nonspatial sense. In Hebrews 3:12 the KJV says: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” Obviously, this “departing” is not a spatial one....

In the LXX apostasia is found five times: Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19; 33:19; Jeremiah 2:19; 1 Maccabees 2:15. 76 It also occurs seven times in Aquila (Deut 15:9; Judges 19:22; 1 Kgdms 2:12; 10:27; 25:17; Prov 16:27; Nah 1:11), once in Theodotion (3 Kgdms 21:13), and twice in Symmachus (1 Kgdms 1:16; 2:12).77 In every one of these instances from the OT and Apocrypha, the meaning is religious or political defection....

"Apostasia" is only used one other time in the New Testament, in Acts 21:21 ["apostasian"] to describe "forsaking", or "going away from" the teachings of Moses."

[Acts 21:21]:

"They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away ["apostasian"] from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs"

.….Here it is agreed that "apostasian" refers to religious apostasy....

The cognate verb of apostasia, afisthmi, is found fourteen times in the NT. It is used in both a spatial and nonspatial sense. Only three times is it used of religious apostasy (Luke 8:13; 1 Tim 4:1; Heb 3:12). No one questions the fact that the word most often designates a spatial departure. It is found with that meaning throughout all periods of Greek literature....

...As was noted earlier, a major part of the case for understanding apostasia as a spatial departure is its relationship to its cognate verb afisthmi. The argument suggests that the meaning of the verb can also be applied to the noun. .... It is evident, then that the verb aphisteemi [ sic] does have the meaning to depart in the New Testament, in a very general sense which is not specialized as being related to rebellion against God or forsaking the faith. And, since a noun takes it meaning from the verb, the noun, too, may have such a broad connotation."

"Apostasion", another closely related noun appears in Matt 5:31, & 19:7, and Mark 10:4 where it describes a "writing of divorcement", or "papers that separate". Thus we have a spatial departure in view:

[Compare Mt 5:31, 19:7]:

(v. 5:31) "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' "

"certificate of divorce" = "apostasion"

(v. 19:7) "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

[Compare Mk 10:4]:

"They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

viii_1_c) ANCIENT USAGE OF APOSTASIA, APOSTASION SUPPORTS THE POSSIBILITY APOSTASIA POINTING TO THE RAPTURE

Apostasia" was used in extra Biblical Greek literature to describe political revolt, or a "going away from the establishment" and in the Septuagint (LXX) when the Jews would "go away from God" to worship other gods.

[Combs, Ibid]:

'''Apostasia itself, apparently, first occurs in Greek literature outside the Bible in the first century B.C. Lampe’s lexicon of the patristic period also lists “revolt, defection as the primary meaning of apostasia; however, there is one example given of spatial departure...

This reference to a spatial departure is found in a NT apocryphal work entitled The Assumption of the Virgin. In sections 31–32 we read:

"But the Holy Ghost said to the apostles and the mother of the Lord, 'Behold, the governor has sent a captain of a thousand against you, because the Jews have made a tumult. Go out therefore from Bethlehem, and fear not; for behold, I will bring you by a cloud to Jerusalem…."

The apostles therefore rose up straightaway and went out of the house, bearing the bed of their lady the mother of God, and went forward towards Jerusalem: and immediately, just as the Holy Ghost said, they were lifted up by a cloud and were found at Jerusalem in the house of their lady.'''

Here we clearly have the description of a “rapture” of the apostles and mother of the Lord. The story continues in section 33:

"But when the captain came to Bethlehem and did not find there the mother of the Lord, nor the apostles, he laid hold upon the Bethlehemites… For the captain did not know of the departure of the apostles and the mother of the Lord to Jerusalem."

This “rapture” is now described as a “departure,” the Greek word being apostasia. Here is clear evidence that apostasia can refer to a “rapture”; however, 'The Assumption of the Virgin' can be dated no earlier than the fifth century A.D.'''

"In the LXX apostasia is found five times: Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19; 33:19; Jeremiah 2:19; 1 Maccabees 2:15. 76 It also occurs seven times in Aquila (Deut 15:9; Judges 19:22; 1 Kgdms 2:12; 10:27; 25:17; Prov 16:27; Nah 1:11), once in Theodotion (3 Kgdms 21:13), and twice in Symmachus (1 Kgdms 1:16; 2:12).77 In every one of these instances from the OT and Apocrypha, the meaning is religious or political defection....

...This is probably why this meaning is not found in the standard NT lexicon by Bauer, nor by its predecessor Thayer. The same is true for the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, and the more recent Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament....

...because of the evidence for such a meaning possibly before the koine period but clearly after it, it cannot be entirely ruled out."

Consider that NT lexicons are limited to the interpretations of theologians relative to particular bible versions. They do not provide all possibilities for each particular word. So it cannot be concluded that apostasia cannot mean spatial departure in the Bible because of it's absence in certain NT lexicons. General koine Greek lexicons which reflect all usages of the word "apostasia" and it's family of words which are available for that word; and the context of each passage must be carefully considered to determine which usage most fits the context.

viii_1_d) CONTEXT IN 2 THES CHAPTER 2 POINTS TO THE RAPTURE

The Greek word "apostasia" in 2 Thess. 2:3 also has the Greek article "the" in front of it in the Greek text, which makes it not a general "going away", or "departure", but "The Departure", a specialevent that the reader is expected to already know about.

In other words, the use of the article "the" with "apostasia" in 2 Thess. 2:3 indicates that Paul expects the Thessalonian Christians to already understand that this is the title of an event, and to already know what it means. Had the Apostle Paul already taught the Thessalonians about an "EVENT" that could be described as a "departure", or "going away"? Absolutely, yes. Paul had already taught the Thessalonian Church about the Catching Away and "departure" of the Church in 1 Thess 4:13-18.

In 2 Thess 2:5, Paul says don’t you remember when I was with you I taught you about these things? I don't see where Paul taught them at all about "a falling away from the truth" in his first letter, but he taught them about the Rapture of the church in five passages in 1st Thessalonians:

Furthermore, Paul refers to the last days as a time when there will be a forsaking of fundamental truths, i.e., an apostasy in other letters; but he has not mentioned that idea in either of the letters to the Thessalonians and these are the first that he wrote to them. Hence, if this specific great worldwide doctrinal defection is what he meant, it is doubtful if the Thessalonians would have understood him.

On the other hand in Paul's previous letter to the Thessalonians he had discussed, at length, a coming physical departure from the earth by all believers when Christ returns to meet them in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This standing away from, in context, seems to refer to all the raptured believers standing away from the earth, as they stand before their returning Lord when they meet Him in the heavens. Here, Paul is simply reminding them that the "sudden destruction" that would come upon unbelievers when the Day of the LORD begins could not happen until the rapture - the standing away - from the earth before Christ (Romans 14:10) - had taken place. The entire context, before and after, fits this understanding of the text better than the idea of the apostasy from the faith.

[1 Thes 1:10]:

"And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."

[1 Thes 2:19]:

"For what [is] our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? [Are] not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"

[1 Thes 3:13]:

"To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."

[1 Thes 4:13-5:10]:

(v. 13) "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

(v. 14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

(v. 15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

(v. 16) 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:

(v. 17) Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

(v. 18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

(v. 5:1) But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

(v. 2) For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

(v. 3) For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

(v. 4) But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

(v. 5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

(v. 6) Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.

(v. 7) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

(v. 8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

(v. 9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

(v. 10) Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

[1 Thes 5:23]:

" And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

viii_1_e) APOSTASY = DEPARTURE FROM A RELIGIOUS FAITH IS NOT IN VIEW

Paul refers to the last days as a time when there will be a forsaking of fundamental truths, i.e., an apostasy in other letters; but he has not mentioned that idea as a particular event to precede the revelation of the man of lawlessness in either of the letters to the Thesalonians; and these are the first letters that he wrote to them. Hence, if this specific great worldwide doctrinal defection is what he meant in 2 Thes 2:3 as a one time historical event after which the man of lawlessness is revealed, it is doubtful if the Thesalonians would have understood him.

Notice below that Paul refers to a general defection of the faith but no particular historical benchmark event:

[Compare 1 Tim 4:1-5]:

(v. 1) "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

(v. 2) Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

(v. 3) They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

(v. 4) For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

(v. 5) because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

[Compare 2 Timothy 3:1-6]:

(v. 1) "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

(v. 2) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

(v. 3) without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,

(v. 4) treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God -

(v. 5) having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

(v. 6) They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,

(v. 7) always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

(v. 8) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

(v. 9) But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone."

Furthermore, "he apostasia" could not be a single historical benchmark event of apostasy of true believers from the Christian faith because the Rapture evacuates all believers before the "day of the Lord", i.e., the wrath of the Tribulation period. Only believers can apostasize, i.e., depart from the Christian faith. Unbelievers do not have a true Christian faith to depart from until they become believers.

The definite article is significant in that it indicates something that Paul had already told them about. If it is to be then assumed to apply to the final, great religious apostasy at the end of the age we must take into perspective that there has transpired over 1950 years since Paul wrote these lines, numerous great apostasies from the faith; and none of these introduced the Day of the LORD, although persecuted believers in each case might easily have so interpreted them.

Furthermore, there is no passage by Paul that points to a specific, historical, benchmark apostasy from the Christian faith or any faith.

Since a one time event of apostasy is not evident in Scripture that meets the qualifications in 1 Thesalonians and since the definite article is also used to describe the man of sin, the Antichrist, and is in OT passages for the Thesalonians to be aware of and since Paul spoke of the rapture in 1 Thes 4:13-18 then the definite article leans toward the rapture rather than a one time apostasy from the Christian faith.

If Paul had been referring to a "general falling away from the truth", it would have "proved" nothing to the Church at Thessalonica, because there were at the time, and have been and will continue to be, great periods of falling away from the truth throughout the Church Age.

viii_1_f) PAUL REFERS TO HAVING TAUGHT THE APOSTASIA PREVIOUSLY - WHICH SCRIPTURE POINTS MOST POWERFULLY TO THE RAPTURE

[Compare 2 Thes 2:1-5]:

(2 Thes 2:1 NASB) "Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,

(2 Thes 2:2 NASB) that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

(2 Thes 2:3 NASB) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

(2 Thes 2:4 NASB) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

(2 Thes 2:5 NASB) Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?"

Notice below that Paul refers to a general defection of the faith but no particular historical benchmark event:

[Compare 1 Tim 4:1-5]:

(v. 1) "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

(v. 2) Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

(v. 3) They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

(v. 4) For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

(v. 5) because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

[Compare 2 Timothy 3:1-6]: