In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, eschatological teaching appears even more prominently than in the first. The Thessalonians continue to endure severe persecution (1 Thess. 3:3, 2 Thess. 1:4). Because of this, and because of the apostle’s earlier teaching, they eagerly await the Coming of their Lord (1 Thess. 1:10). Now, however, a rumor is circulating, a rumor to the effect that “the Day of the Lord has come”— that Christ’s return is “at the very door” (Mt. 24:33). As a result, the Thessalonians are troubled, shaken from their spiritual composure (2 Thess. 2:2). Doubtless a vigorous debate has arisen in their congregations, seeing that the rumor does not square with Paul’s previous instruction (2 Thess. 3:5). Also, certain men, previously reproved for their indolence, are likely using this rumor as an excuse to dodge the responsibility of work (1 Thess. 4:11-12, 5:14). In the good providence of God, Paul gets wind of these things and again takes pen in hand.

Our text, 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10, is the first of two passages in this letter devoted almost entirely to eschatological themes (we will discuss the other, 2:1-12, next). In essence, it celebrates the Thessalonians faithfulness and endurance amidst their severe persecutions, even as it encourages them to stay the course, seeing that Christ will soon return to administer perfect justice in the form of eternal rewards and retribution. Let us briefly survey it now, paying special attention to any signs that Paul has in view the single Consummation of classic amillennial eschatology.

Paul’s Gratitude

In verses 3-4, the apostle opens with an expression of thanksgiving. He is deeply grateful for the Thessalonian’s growth in faith and brotherly love, and especially for their perseverance amidst so many dire persecutions and afflictions (Acts 17:5-9, 1 Thess. 1:6, 2:14, 3:3). He feels he ought always to thank God for such exemplary qualities in such exemplary Christians, and proudly declares that he openly boasts about them to the other churches of God.

Paul’s Exhortation

In verse 5-10 he goes on to encourage them to keep up the good fight. This tightly knit section may be divided into three parts.

In verse 5, Paul states his theme for the passage: the righteous judgment of God. The Thessalonians are to remember that their admirable endurance through these unjust persecutions stands as a “plain indication” (or “manifest evidence,” NKJV) that God, the Righteous Judge has already declared them to be righteous because of their faith in Christ, and so made them worthy to enter his eternal Kingdom. Implicitly, they must now continue to endure, so that they may see their righteousness fully vindicated on the Day of the Lord Jesus (Mt. 24:13, Rom. 8:17, 11:22, Col. 1:23, 1 Tim. 2:15). As Paul will later express the matter to the Philippians, the calm perseverance of believers in the midst of persecution is a sure sign: a sign of future destruction for their persecutors, but of future salvation for the believers themselves (Phil. 1:28).

God’s Righteous Judgment

In verses 6-8, Paul continues his meditation on God’s righteous judgment. Now, however, his thoughts pass on to another judgment: the final Judgment itself. He means his words to be a great encouragement to the Thessalonians. In that Day God will send the Lord Jesus down from heaven, surrounded by flaming fire (i.e., divine glory in manifestation) and accompanied by his mighty angels. When he arrives, he himself will consummately administer the righteous judgment of God, turning a morally upside down world right side up. How will he do this? By afflicting the afflicters, and by relieving the afflicted (verses 6-7). He will do it by dealing out fiery retribution to all who spurned the knowledge of God and refused to obey the Gospel of Christ (v. 8; Rom. 1:5, 28).

What Judgment is This? 

Is this indeed the Last Judgment? Verses 9-10 assure us that it is. In verse 9, Paul says that the unbelieving rebels will pay the penalty of eternal destruction. From that moment on, they will experience the eternal ruin of all well-being in Gehenna, or the Lake of Fire (Mt. 13:40-43, 25:46). Note also that this judgment removes unbelievers from “the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.” Here, Paul has the Regeneration in view. Unbelievers will never taste the powers, nor behold the glories, of the eternal Age to Come, wherein God and Christ will feast together with the saints in the new heavens and the new earth (v. 9; Luke 14:24).

Verse 10 also points conclusively to the Last Judgment. When he comes, Christ will “ . . . be glorified in his saints on that day, and marveled at among all who have believed.” Paul has in view Christ’s entire Church: all the saints, all who have believed. And how exactly will they all arrive upon the scene? The apostle need not say, for in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 he has already explained everything: On the day when Christ is revealed from heaven, he will bring with him the spirits of the departed saints, and then clothe them with their new resurrection bodies. Then he will transform the living saints. At that point, all of the saints of all time will be standing before the Lord in glory! I agree, therefore, with F. F. Bruce, when he writes, “Christian men and women are meant here. They are to share in Christ’s glory. The revealing of the Lord Jesus from heaven (v. 7) is also the day of the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19, Col. 1:3) (NBC, p. 1162)

Finally, note in verse 10 Paul’s reference to “that day.” What day does he mean? As the phrase itself indicates, there is, and can only be, one of them: the Day of the Lord Jesus. Moreover, in this text—as in so many others like it—it is plainly a day of eternal reward and retribution (1 Cor. 5:5, 2 Cor. 1:14, 1 Thess 5:2, 2 Thess. 2:2, 2 Peter 3:10f). In sum, it is the Last Day, the Day of the general Resurrection, the general Judgment, and the inauguration of the Final State for all men and angels (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would point out that this text is highly problematic for our dispensational brethren. For if, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Paul was extending to his flock the hope of a secret Coming and a removal to heaven, how is it that here he is extending to that very same flock a completely different hope: the hope of an exceedingly public Coming, of final redemption for the saints, and final retribution for sinners?

No, in both of these passages Paul clearly has in mind a single Day. It is the Last Day, the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Consummation, in which the glorified Lord Jesus will come to earth again, one final time, to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and introduce the Kingdom of God in its glorious fullness.

So our Reformed forefathers believed, taught, and joyfully proclaimed. We do well to follow in their steps.

This essay is an excerpt from a book in progress, entitled, The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Time Debate. In essence, it is an exposition and defense of the eschatology of the classic Reformation, according to which Christ will return once, at the end of the age, to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and bring in the new heavens and the new earth, the eternal Kingdom of God. Lord willing, the book will be published in mid-2013.

THE COMFORT OF HIS COMING

Paul’s two letters to the Thessalonians contain some of the New Testament’s richest veins of eschatological instruction. Written from Corinth around AD 50-51, they reveal that the apostle’s early ministry to European Gentiles was charged with a lively expectation of Christ’s soon return (1 Thess.1:10, 2:19, 3:11-13; cf. Acts 17:16ff, 1 Cor. 15).

They also reveal a problem among the Thessalonians: Paul’s Jewish opponents had forced him quickly to flee the city, with the result that some of his converts were left confused (or ignorant) about his teaching on the afterlife and the Consummation (Acts 17:1-9). These letters feature Paul’s painstaking efforts to clear up every such misunderstanding. As a result, they speak often, and in great detail, about the Last Things: the signs of Christ’s Parousia, the nature and purpose of his Parousia, the Resurrection, the Judgment, and the World to Come (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 5:1-10; 2 Thess. 1:3-12, 2:1-13). Accordingly, they are a vast treasure-trove of eschatological truth!

To read the rest of this article, please click here. 

Note: This article is an excerpt from a book in progress, called The High King of Heaven. It’s great goal is to show that the classic eschatology of the early Church and the Reformation is indeed the biblical one; that Christ will come again once, at the end of the age, to raise the dead, judge the world in righteousness, and bring in the new heavens and the new earth, the eternal home of the redeemed. Our text from Philippians, like so many others in the NT, seems clearly to teach this very thing. 

All Things Subjected to Himself

(Philippians 3:17-21)

I have touched on this text several times, but want to linger over it here, seeing that in two short (and very inspiring) verses, the apostle marvelously encapsulates, reiterates, and confirms his entire eschatology.

In this brief paragraph, Paul is exhorting the saints to imitate him and their other leaders (17). In order to move them to do so, he brings before their eyes the final destiny of both sinners and saints. As for worldly, gluttonous, and licentious men, who walk as enemies of the Cross of Christ, their (final) end is destruction, by which Paul means, not annihilation, but eternal “tearing down” in Gehenna, rather than eternal “building up” in the World to Come (Mt. 7:13, Rom. 9:22, 1 Cor. 5:5, 2 Cor. 10:8, 1 Thess. 5:3, 2 Thess. 1:9).

Read More

This is the LAST (yes, you read that right!) in a series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Since the prophetic texts I deal with are quite long, I have not reproduced them here. You will need to bring an open Bible to each blog. My hope and prayer is that you will enjoy them all.

Jerusalem In That Day: Interpreting Zechariah 12-14

We turn our attention now to the most prolific—and most fascinating—of the three post-exilic prophets: Zechariah (fl. 500 BC). Like his rough contemporaries, Haggai and Malachi, this great OT priest, seer, and martyr comforted a subjugated and much enfeebled nation with visions and prophecies of a glorious future: the coming of the Messiah, the final defeat of Israel’s enemies, and the final restoration of God’s people, land, temple, priesthood, and holy city—Jerusalem.

Our focus in this study is Zechariah 12-14. It is the second of two lengthy prophetic oracles dealing with the future Kingdom of God. To better understand the second, let us look briefly at the first.

(To continue reading, please click here)

 

This is the next to the last post (yes!) in a series of  essays dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

 

Daniel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Sevens

The year is 539 B.C. Daniel, still in captivity under Darius the Mede, has been reading the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12, 29:10). He realizes that the 70 years of Jerusalem’s desolation are nearing an end, but also that many captive Jews remain unbroken and impenitent (9:13). They are not spiritually qualified for the great restoration promised decades earlier.

So Daniel prays (9:3-23). First, he rehearses and confesses the sin of God’s covenant-breaking people (9:3-10). Then he acknowledges God’s justice in sending them into captivity (9:11-15). Finally, he makes his petition. Appealing solely to God’s mercy, grace, and zeal for the honor of his Name, he pleads with the LORD to fulfill his promise given through Jeremiah: to restore his City, his Sanctuary, and his Holy Mountain (9:16-19).

His words are not in vain. Even as he is praying, the angel Gabriel arrives and stands before him, declaring to Daniel that God has indeed heard his prayer and answered it. He (Gabriel) has been sent to give Daniel “insight and understanding” about the coming Restoration (9:20-23). In the four long verses that follow, he does (9:24-27)

Are you familiar with this famous OTKP, often referred to as the prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Sevens (or Weeks)? If so, you know at least one thing for sure: A whole host of commentators have been seeking insight and understanding ever since! In the paragraphs ahead, we will see why.

To continue reading, please click HERE.