The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (104 page)

III. Exhortations and Instructions (4:1-5:22)

This major section is permeated by numerous commands to the church along with supporting arguments.

A. Introduction to Exhortations (4:1—2)
Paul urged the church to pursue a moral and ethical lifestyle that was pleasing to God. He reminded the Thessalonians that the commands that he gave ultimately came from Christ himself.

B. Exhortation to Personal Holiness and Sexual Purity (4:3—8)
Paul urged the church to abstain from sexual immorality (4:3). He went so far as to define sexual purity as the essence of God's will for the believer and a goal of the process of sanctification. Sexual immorality was pagan behavior and inappropriate for followers of Jesus. After insisting earlier that his moral teaching came from Christ (4:2), Paul now insisted that it came from
God through the Holy Spirit (4:8). Consequently, a lifestyle of immorality defied the commands of the triune God and invited his holy vengeance.

C Exhortation to Christian Love and Responsible Living (4:9—12)
The Thessalonians naturally and spontaneously expressed love to each other as a by-product of the Spirit's transforming work in them (4:9). Paul urged them to do so even more (4:10). Love for others demanded that one live responsibly and work for a living rather than depending on the generosity of other believers (4:11). This insistence was aimed at the idle who were mentioned again in 5:14 and would be addressed in greater detail in Paul's second letter. Paul warned that failure to live compassionately and responsibly would thwart the church's witness to outsiders (4:12).

D. Instructions About the Second Coming (4:13—18)
Paul prepared his audience for exhortations related to the Second Coming by first clearing up some confusion about events accompanying Christ's return. The church was apparently concerned about the fate of believers who died before the Second Coming and feared that the dead believers might not be able to enjoy the dramatic and exciting events related to Jesus' return (4:13). Paul encouraged the church by assuring them that believers who had died would be raised as Jesus descended to consummate his reign over the earth (4:14—16). Those who were alive at Christ's return would be “caught up” together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (the “rapture”) and so forever be with the Lord (4:17).

E. Exhortations Related to the Second Coming (5:1—11)
Paul urged the Thessalonians to be alert and vigilant because Jesus' return would be sudden (5:1—8). He comforted the church with the assurance that God's people would escape God's wrath because of Jesus' sacrificial death. Thus they could anticipate Jesus' return with joy rather than dread (5:9-11).

F. General Exhortations (5:12—22)
Paul urged the church to support and respect spiritual leaders, show love and forgiveness to others, and be faithful in prayer (5:12—18). He also commanded the church to value the gift of prophecy by which God revealed his truth through gifted individuals in the church but to test prophetic pronouncements and to accept only those that were good, that is, that were consistent with the truth Christ revealed through Paul (5:19-22).

IV. Conclusion (5:23-28)

Paul's final prayer encapsulates the two greatest concerns of the letter by focusing on the purity of God's people in anticipation of the Second Coming. The letter ends on the confident note that the congregation would be found blameless at the time of Jesus' return because of God's faithfulness to those whom he called. God called his people to sanctification (see 4:7), and he would accomplish it (5:24).

2 THESSALONIANS

I. Introduction (1:1-12)

Following his customary greeting (1:1—2), Paul sought to encourage the Thessalonians to remain faithful as they endured persecution (1:3—4). In an act of talionic justice, God would torment those who tormented his people and give rest to those who were suffering (1:5—7a). This judgment would occur in conjunction with the Second Coming when sinners would confront the same glorious divine presence that would slay the antichrist (1:7b—10; cf. 2:8).
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As Paul anticipated that great event, he prayed that the believers would be characterized by goodness and thus bring glory to Christ (1:11—12).

II. Thesis Statement: The Day of the Lord Has Not Occurred and True
Believers Need Not Fear It (2:1-2)

Paul announced two topics that dominate the second chapter of his letter: Christ's return and the gathering of believers. Somehow, whether by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from Paul and his associates, the Thessalonians had begun to suspect that the Day of the Lord had already occurred or that it was presently occurring.

III. Proofs Supporting Paul's Thesis (2:3-19)

Paul wrote to insist that the Day of the Lord had not yet taken place and to describe events that must transpire prior to Christ's return.

A. First Proof: The Day of the Lord Has Not Occurred (2:3—12)
The Day of the Lord, which encompasses such important eschatological events as the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment, would be preceded by widespread apostasy inspired by the “man of lawlessness” (i.e., the antichrist; 2:3). This figure would enthrone himself in the place of God in the Jerusalem temple and would deceive unbelievers with amazing counterfeit miracles (2:4,9—12). Ultimately, the man of lawlessness would be destroyed by Christ at his return. Some unnamed person and power were restraining lawlessness, and the man of lawlessness would not appear until the restrainer was removed (2:5-8).
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B. Second Proof: Christians Can Have Hope and Confidence as They Anticipate the End Time (2:13—17)
Paul recognized that his warning about the great delusion that would accompany the coming of the man of lawlessness might have frightened his readers. Paul encouraged the believers to stand firm by reminding them that God had chosen them for salvation and that he had called them for final glorification (2:13—15). This gracious election and powerful call assured them that God would strengthen and protect them until his plan for them was fulfilled (2:16—17). Paul repeated this assurance in 3:3—5.

IV. Exhortations (3:1-15)

Paul concluded his letter by tackling some of the practical problems in the church at Thessalonica.

A. Exhortation to Pray (3:1—5)
First, Paul exhorted the church to pray for the spread and positive reception of the gospel. Paul was convinced that the effectiveness of his ministry was dependent on the exercise of God's gracious power and not his own skills or abilities. Paul also asked the church to pray for the protection of the missionary team.

B. Exhortations Related to the Idle (3:6—15)
Second, Paul instructed the church on how to handle the idle. These individuals were living irresponsibly by refusing to work and depending on the generosity of other members of the church for their survival (3:6). This lifestyle might somehow be linked to the confused eschatology of the church or represent a separate issue. Paul appealed to both Christian tradition and his own example to argue that believers must work for a living (3:7—13). Church members should disassociate themselves from the idle and no longer support them financially in hopes that they would repent and begin to live responsibly (3:14—15).

V. Conclusion (3:16—18)
Paul prayed that the church would experience both the peace and grace of the Lord Jesus. He also explained how he authenticated his letters so that the church could now distinguish letters actually authored by the apostle from those fraudulently ascribed to him.

THEOLOGY

Theological Themes

The Second Coming
Both letters to the Thessalonians were written to address questions or false assumptions about the end time. These letters provide Paul's most explicit teaching about the events surrounding the Second Coming. Paul's teaching regarding the Second Coming in 1 Thess 4:13—18 was derived from “a revelation from the Lord” (lit. “the word of the Lord”). This may refer either to Jesus' eschatological teachings during his earthly ministry (see Matthew 24-25; Mark 13) or to revelation from Christian prophets in the early church. Although Jesus' teaching preserved in the Gospels did not directly address the issue of whether dead believers would be resurrected before the transformation of living believers, Paul's discussion reverberates with so many themes of the Olivet Discourse that one must suspect that Paul was alluding to Jesus' teaching.
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At the Second Coming, the Lord Jesus will descend from heaven. The accompanying shout of the Messiah (John 5:25) will raise the dead. The voice of the archangel and the blast of a trumpet (Matt 24:29—31; 1 Cor 15:52) serve as signals to the angels to gather God's people both dead and living for final transformation. The newly resurrected believers and the believers who had not experienced death will be caught up together in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The clouds serve to portray Christ's appearance as a manifestation of God (Exod 16:10; 19:16; Dan 7:13; Mark 13:26).

The noun “meet”
(apantesis)
was often used to speak of a group who went out to meet an approaching dignitary and then turned around and escorted him or her into their city or home (Matt 25:6; Acts 28:15). The approach of the dignitary was sometimes called the
parousia
, the word used here to describe the coming of Christ. Several commentators argue that the interplay of the noun “coming” that could speak of the approach of the king and the noun “meet” imply that believers meet Christ in the heavens and then escort him back to earth in royal procession.
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Such language may imply that Paul intended for his readers to envision living forever with the Lord in a transformed earth over which Christ rules with absolute authority.

Some interpreters regard 1 Thess 4:13—18 as a discussion of a pretribulational rapture rather than the Second Coming. But the close connection of the passage to Jesus' descriptions of the Second Coming (see esp. Matt 24:30—31 and parallels) and the possible technical use of the terms “coming” and “meeting” make this interpretation unlikely. First Thessalonians 5:1—11 describes the Second Coming as belonging to the Day of the Lord predicted by the OT prophets (e.g., Amos 5:18-20; Obadiah 15; Zeph 1:2-18; see also 2 Thess 2:1—3). The fact that Paul associated Jesus' coming with the Day of the Lord and utilized the imagery of OT theophanies to describe Jesus' coming expresses a high Christology that recognizes Jesus as divine.

Paul insisted that the Day of the Lord would come suddenly. It would take unbelievers, though not God's people, by surprise. Paul characterized the Day of the Lord as a time of destruction and intense pain for the wicked. He assured believers, however, that they would escape this frightening outpouring of divine wrath. Paul urged believers to prepare themselves for Jesus' return by clothing themselves with Christian character.

Second Thessalonians adds some detail to Paul's early description of the Second Coming. Although 1 Thessalonians 4 stresses the joy believers will know by participating in the events of the Second Coming, 2 Thess 1:3—12 stresses the horrors experienced by unbelievers when Jesus returns. As in OT theophanies, the glory of Christ at his coming will destroy unbelievers. Eternal punishment will be the sinners' penalty for their rebellion against God and their rejection of the gospel. Believers, however, will glorify Christ at his return and be glorified by him.

The Antichrist and Mystery of Lawlessness
In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul introduced the issue of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gathering of the believers. Paul had taught on these subjects in 1 Thess 4:13—18 in which Christ's return and the gathering of the believers appear to be two concurrent events that constitute the Day of the Lord. Paul's concern in this text is not to offer a detailed description of the Day of the Lord, but to identify precursors to the Day of the Lord. Although Paul had earlier encouraged the Thessalonians to live in a constant state of preparation for Christ's return, the Thessalonians had wrongly concluded that the Day of the Lord had come.

SIDEBAR 11.1: WHO IS THE ONE WHO RESTRAINS?
(2 THESS 2:6-7)

Paul explained that the manifestation of “the man of lawlessness” was being temporarily thwarted by an unidentified restrainer (“the one now restraining,” 2 Thess 2:7). Interpreters continue to debate the identity of this restrainer. Various theories identify the restrainer as (1) the Roman government; (2) an angel, such as the archangel Michael; (3) an agent of Satan; (4) the Holy Spirit; or (5) the pretribulation church.

Perhaps the most important clue for identifying the restrainer is a grammatical feature in the text. Paul used both a neuter and a masculine participle to describe the restrainer. This may imply that the restrainer is an impersonal force that is personified by a human being. Thus many commentators have argued that the restrainer is the principle of law and order or the Roman government embodied by the emperor and now other officials or have given an alternative scenario that fits both masculine and neuter forms.

Whatever his identity, when the restrainer is “out of the way,” the “lawless one” will perform counterfeit miracles that delude those who have rejected the gospel (2 Thess 2:9). Their veneration of the man of lawlessness will heighten their guilt and intensify their condemnation. Jesus will ultimately destroy the man of lawlessness by the breath of his mouth and the brightness of his coming (2 Thess 2:8). Jesus' powerful command and intense glory will ruin the Antichrist and end the great apostasy.

While the identity of the “restrainer” was most likely known to Paul's original readers, students of Scripture today should exercise restraint and humility in their efforts to pinpoint the exact interpretation of this puzzling passage.
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Perhaps most likely is the identification of the “restrainer” with the archangel Michael (see esp. Rev 12:7; cf. Dan 10:13,20-21). If so, God will recall Michael in order to allow Satan and the man of lawlessness to engage in their final, albeit futile, act of rebellion.
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