Tag Archives: Parousia
“God did not appoint us to wrath”
Left Behind enthusiasts, when told that First Thessalonians does not teach their Left Behind scenario, quickly respond with half of a verse taken from its whole context which they left behind:
“God did not appoint us to wrath”–1 Thessalonians 5:9a.
But here is the context! –This is The Day of the Lord when he comes to bring his wrath on the unbeliever and salvation for his people.
Paul began this letter with the affirmation that we “await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead–Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath”–1 Thess. 1:10. This is “the second coming” (NICNT)*…”The Advent (Parousia) of Christ” (F. F. Bruce).** This is “the day of Christ’s revelation in glory, when he comes to vindicate his people and judge the world in righteousness (cf. Acts 17:31)”–Bruce. There lies the ground of our “hope.”
Matthew 24
And here is the context of 1 Thess. 5:9a, quoted at the start, above. “Paul proceeds to speak of salvation negatively and positively. God’s purpose for us is not wrath…On the contrary, he purposed that they should obtain salvation…” (NICNT)
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation. 9 For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.…
Rahab let down the red cord and her house was saved in the midst of the judgment on Jericho which fell.
God’s people in Egypt put blood on their doorposts and were saved from the judgment on their neighbors brought by the angel of death.
We have the blood of the Lamb on our doorposts.
Paul ends this section as he began it. Reassuring those Christians that:
“whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.…”
He began, at 1 Thess. 4:13, by addressing a concern of those Christians at Thessalonica:
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope…”
The exposition continues here (link). https://textsincontext.wordpress.com/2013/05/11/second-coming-rapture-vs-scripture-christian/
*New International Commentary on the New Testament, Leon Morris, 1991.
**Word Biblical Commentary, F. F. Bruce, 1982.
The Church Is Mentioned After Revelation Chapter 3, by Bible Church Online
While the Greek word for church, εκκλεσια, ecclesia, is not mentioned after Revelation chapter three, the saints, which are the church, certainly are mentioned after Revelation chapter three. Those saints are mentioned at least fifteen times after Revelation chapter three.
Church, Ecclesia
There is an argument in some circles, that since the word ‘church’ is not mentioned in Revelation after chapter three, the church is absent during that period. This type of argument is known as an argument from silence. That is a rhetorical fallacy that uses the absence of evidence as actual evidence in support of the argument. Article Continues here (link)
The Last Days. The Days Between Christ’s Advents
Hebrews 1
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Acts 2
Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh
In the New Testament, the Last Days were inaugurated by Christ’s First Advent and will be consummated by Christ’s Second Advent. We, now, as did the early Christians, all live in these Last Days.
“The expression is found in the LXX [the Greek translation of the OT], where it not infrequently refers…to the days of the Messiah….in Jesus the new age, the Messianic Age, has appeared…”–The Expositor’s Bible Commentary
Too often, unknowing Christians relegate these to the future or think that only now have we entered them, as for example, when interpreting Paul’s words to Timothy:
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good,…–2 Timothy 3
But Paul was describing his own day, as the concluding line shows:
“Have nothing to do with these people.” v.5
Christ’s Coming: 1 Thessalonians vs. ‘Left Behind’
First Thessalonians 4: The Coming of the Lord
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming* of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. (English Standard Version)
Thessalonians is one of the earliest books of the New Testament. (Some think the earliest. F.F. Bruce suggested the possibility that Galatians preceded it. But overall, James was probably the first.) Understandably, these new Christians in this new church had questions and misunderstandings that needed answers.
KEY Context: As v. 15 shows, (with reference to those who are still alive) this section answers questions about “the coming* of the Lord,” parousia* in Greek. I.e. the Second Advent–SEE Footnote. It begins in v. 13, the key verse of the context, with Paul addressing their concern about fellow Christians who have already died. Were these who had died now at some disadvantage? What hope did those who still live have for them when Christ returns?
Verse 14 points to Jesus’ death and resurrection, the central theme of Christian hope concerning those who have died.
See 1 Corinthians 15 where Paul addresses the question of the resurrection. Christ’s resurrection was the first fruits, and the resurrection of Christians is the final harvest, v.23 “at His coming (parousia)” when “we shall all be changed—in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (verse 52).
Verse 15 gives the key point of this passage (addressing the concerns of the Thessalonians) that, when Christ returns, the living Christians have no advantage over those who have died.
Verse 16 describes, in familiar terms (for us who have the NT), Christ’s return (parousia). This is no secret event.
This Coming is described in the same terms as other passages about the Lord’s coming:
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God….in the clouds…”
Acts 1 “…a cloud took him out of their sight….’This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'”
Dan 7 “…with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man”
Rev 1 “…Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him…”
Mark 13 “…then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven…”
1 Corinthians 15 “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. “
Verse 17 pictures the “we” who are still alive as following those who have died “to meet the Lord in the air…”
To meet [apantasin] the Lord… “When a dignitary paid an official visit (parousia) to a city in Hellenistic times, the action of the leading citizens in going out to meet him and escort him back on the final stage of his journey [to that city] was called the apantesis” (F.F. Bruce,I &2 Thessalonians, WBC). R.C. Sproul vivdly describes this historical usage by Paul–starting at 10:20 mark, here.
See N.T. Wright speak of this, here.
Verse 18 (This is no Gnostic revelation of some new doctrine of a secret ‘rapture’.) The whole point of this passage is to encourage each other in the hope given to us regarding death through Christ’s death and resurrection.
*Parousia. In the NT, parousia, with reference to Christ, refers exclusively to Christ’s Second Advent, his Second Coming, “…the coming of Christ at the end-time for the general resurrection, last judgment and the creation of the new heaven and earth.”--The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, s.v. “present” (II:899ff).
See two other posts: 1) NT Prof. Ben Witherington on origins of ‘rapture theory’ and 2) on the text of Mat. 24, “…taken and the other left”–the opposite of ‘rapture’ teaching. Here –-Amen. I Want to be Left Behind.
And here is a third faithful witness to true Bible teaching, this warning Corrie Ten Boom(link) gave against false teaching: “There are some among us teaching there will be no tribulation, that the Christians will be able to escape all this. These are the false teachers that Jesus was warning us to expect in the latter days.”
On 2 Thess. See https://textsincontext.wordpress.com/2023/01/20/the-protestants-purgatory/
Here is the new Prequel to these articles. Be sure to read it.
https://textsincontext.wordpress.com/2023/03/15/on-i-thessalonians-not-leaving-context-behind/
[CORRIE TEN BOOM Letter, Link: Warning of ‘Rapture’ Teaching]
N. T. Wright: “Rapture is an American Obsession.” It is not found in the New Testament
TextsInContext 