The Apostle Paul's
Second Letter to the Thessalonians
Payday … Someday
An Introduction
Paul's original letter was written to the church shortly after he was forced to 'flee' south toward Athens, and was written after receiving news from Timothy regarding their status. Paul was 'worried' or perhaps concerned, is a better word, about their well being. He had only been with them a little over three weeks, planted a church, taught them as much as he could in that short time, and then he had to escape to safety.
The local Jews … those who did not believe his message about Jesus, did their best to have him labeled as a trouble maker. They would have gone so far as to have beaten him and even have killed him1.
As Paul listened to Timothy's report he discovered a number of things.
He learned that the persecution that was directed toward him had turned toward this young church. But he also learned that so far, they were enduring it.
He learned that they were actually 'thriving' spiritually and were spreading the gospel message to neighboring towns and villages. He was encouraged when he heard this. But he heard something else that concerned him …
He learned that they had misunderstood some crucial facts. He had taught them that Jesus would be returning to get his children. He had apparently told them that this could be very soon.
The misunderstanding was this: The people were left with the impression that Jesus, not could, but would come soon … And they mistakenly understood that the only way to heaven was for Jesus to come back and take them there.
Then some of their loved ones in the church died. They did not understand that believers who die go to be with Jesus. All they understood was … they were supposed to look for, wait for … expect Jesus very soon to return and that this would be their only hope of being with Him forever. Their loved died before the return of Jesus … They missed Jesus' return. How sad. They are gone forever.
Paul spent time correcting this in chapters four and five. Clearly he said that believers who have 'fallen asleep' are in heaven with Jesus … already. He said that Jesus would bring them with Him when he returned.
That should have corrected all of their misconceptions about life after death … and no doubt it did. But it did not correct their belief that Jesus' coming was right around the corner. Now Paul has discovered that many of them had quit their jobs and were 'waiting for Jesus'. In chapter three of II Thessalonians he will tell them to get back to work.
But in the first two chapters Paul tries to make it very clear, that although we should live expecting to meet Jesus as any moment (after all any one of us does not know the day nor the hour of our last day on earth), he said there will be some clear signs preceding the coming of Jesus.
It is time to examine the content of Second Thessalonians
Verses 1 and 2 state who is writing and who is to be the recipient. Paul, together with Silas and Timothy is writing to the church of the Thessalonians. In the introduction he equates God the Father with the Lord Jesus Christ … and he says that the church is IN them. And Paul wishes for them the favor and peace from both the Father and from Jesus.
In verse 3 Paul expresses his thankfulness for their growing faith and for their growing love for one another in the church. Paul is using them as an example of how Christians ought to grow.
He mentions the incredible persecutions that they are enduring. If you stop and think about Paul first statement, that their love for one another is growing … no doubt that is partly as a result of what they are suffering. When we as believers are 'in something' together … it draws us closer together. Christians in hiding, 'huddle' together. Personal differences and preferences are set aside.
In verse 4 Paul once again mentions their situation with the words 'all' the persecutions and tribulations that they were enduring and adds the thought in verse 5 that God sees payback time as a righteous thing.
Then Paul adds a thought in verses 6 and 7 that would give them the impression that Jesus' coming could be in their lifetime. At least that is how it seems in verse 7
He seems to be saying, 'You will get your rest, your time of trouble will be over, when Jesus comes and destroys those who have been persecuting you.
We know, simply because we are 2000 years further down the road of history than these Thessalonians were, that Jesus had not and still has not returned and destroyed their persecutors …and we know that a time of rest has come to them … but it is the rest that we all get when we finally close our eyes here and go to be with the Lord.
This means we need to look for what the Holy Spirit is trying to get across to us. Allow me to insert a verse from the book of Revelation;
Re 6:9 ¶ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
The 'souls' under the altar are believers who have been killed for their refusal to bow to the wishes of the Anti-christ. They are in heaven but they do not seem to be 'totally' at rest. If we were to be studying the book of Revelations we would read next that God does come down and destroy their persecutors.
It may be that this is what God wanted us and the Thessalonians to understand. Perhaps all he is saying is, “In my time … all of My children who have suffered at the hands of wicked men will be vindicated”. Pay day is coming. Believe that. Vengeance is God's business and God promises to settle the score.
Notice also in verse 7 the exact time that the score gets evened … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, Before this time there is a 'rapture', an upward call. The dead in Christ will rise first (1Th 4:16) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1Th 4:17)
In the previous two verses there is no mention of flaming vengeance. There is only mention of Jesus collecting us together to be with Him. The vengeance part comes later after we have attended the judgment seat of Christ, and the marriage supper of the 'Lamb2'. Both of these things occur in heaven. After the marriage supper comes this event: Re 19:11 ¶ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Verse 8 mentions who is on the receiving end of God's 'Flaming Vengeance'; those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel.
Basically speaking, there are not two groups of people. Those who do not know God … do not obey the gospel of God.
But if we are a bit more particular we could say that there are some who do know God … but they do not obey the gospel. Think of Cain in the book of Genesis. Did he know God? Yes, he heard His voice, he talked to God … but he did not like God and certainly did not obey God.
These will be punished with everlasting punishment (verse 9). More accurately the text says, 'everlasting destruction'. There are bible teachers and religious groups that emphasize the word destruction. In their view sinners will be burned up and cease to exist. Perhaps this view is taken because they have a hard time thinking that God could let anyone go on suffering for ever and ever. I would not mind taking this view myself, if I could believe it without distorting what the Bible is teaching.
So what does the Bible teach; everlasting punishment or everlasting destruction?
Revelation 20:13 states that wicked people who have been dead and in Hades for the past thousand years … are not out of existence, but they get called up for a final judgment and then are cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 14:11 says that the wicked will have no rest day and night forever and ever in the lake of fire.
Verse 10 says that their punishment begins when he comes down to this earth. Whose punishment? Thousands of unbelievers have died from Adam until now. They are already suffering in Hades. It was in Hades that the rich man of Luke 16 died, and then opened his eyes and found himself in a place of torment. Lu 16:23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
So whose punishment begins on the day of his return? The answer is simple … the evil rejectors who are still alive and in power at the very end of the age will be destroyed by Jesus when He comes down from heaven will his army … who are all dressed in white robes. I understand this army to be the Christian bride of Christ, His church. Re 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
In addition I believe he has an army of angels with him. Mt 25:31 ¶ "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will … .
That will be an awesome and terrible day. Here are several references to this day taken from various places in the bible.
Joe 3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow—For their wickedness is great."14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
Eze 38:21 "I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man’s sword will be against his brother, 22 "And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Re 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
Re 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,18 "that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Jesus said it this way as he spoke to three of his disciples:
Mt 24:27 "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
In verse 11 Paul prays that the Thessalonians would be counted 'worthy of this calling'. I don't want to 'read more into' the scripture than what is actually there. Some bible commentators have said that being worthy of the calling is referring to the rapture, and that some Christians may be left behind because they have not been living worthy lives. I have a difficulty with that view. What would be the 'cut-off' point for missing the rapture? Missing church for 23 Sundays out a year? On the other hand I do not want to paint a picture which shows Christians can be unholy in practice, that they can do pretty much what they please and because we are dressed in the Holiness of Christ … we all make it just fine.
I cannot find any clear verses in scripture that show that some Christians can possibly be left behind. I do find scriptures that indicate that 'unholiness' and disobedience in believers will not be overlooked, but it does not seem to affect whether they will be raptured or not.
So what do I see in this verse? I see Paul referring to the Christian life as a 'calling'. It is something very special to be a child of God. He is calling on the Thessalonians to continue 'living up to the name'. That is, he does not want them to become careless and bring reproach on the name of Jesus. He (Paul) actually goes into this in chapter 3.
Verse 12: It is Paul's prayer for them and for us … that the name of the Lord Jesus 'be glorified' in our lives. The word glorified means 'to shine brilliantly'. That is quite the opposite to living our lives selfishly and in that sense being unworthy of the name.
The point in all of this, is that we live our lives in such a way, allowing Jesus to shine brilliantly in us, so that others who do not know Jesus will be drawn to notice Him and will eventually bow their knee to Him.
Next Session – The Rapture
1Acts 17:5-10
2Re 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’" .
Paul's original letter was written to the church shortly after he was forced to 'flee' south toward Athens, and was written after receiving news from Timothy regarding their status. Paul was 'worried' or perhaps concerned, is a better word, about their well being. He had only been with them a little over three weeks, planted a church, taught them as much as he could in that short time, and then he had to escape to safety.
The local Jews … those who did not believe his message about Jesus, did their best to have him labeled as a trouble maker. They would have gone so far as to have beaten him and even have killed him1.
As Paul listened to Timothy's report he discovered a number of things.
He learned that the persecution that was directed toward him had turned toward this young church. But he also learned that so far, they were enduring it.
He learned that they were actually 'thriving' spiritually and were spreading the gospel message to neighboring towns and villages. He was encouraged when he heard this. But he heard something else that concerned him …
He learned that they had misunderstood some crucial facts. He had taught them that Jesus would be returning to get his children. He had apparently told them that this could be very soon.
The misunderstanding was this: The people were left with the impression that Jesus, not could, but would come soon … And they mistakenly understood that the only way to heaven was for Jesus to come back and take them there.
Then some of their loved ones in the church died. They did not understand that believers who die go to be with Jesus. All they understood was … they were supposed to look for, wait for … expect Jesus very soon to return and that this would be their only hope of being with Him forever. Their loved died before the return of Jesus … They missed Jesus' return. How sad. They are gone forever.
Paul spent time correcting this in chapters four and five. Clearly he said that believers who have 'fallen asleep' are in heaven with Jesus … already. He said that Jesus would bring them with Him when he returned.
That should have corrected all of their misconceptions about life after death … and no doubt it did. But it did not correct their belief that Jesus' coming was right around the corner. Now Paul has discovered that many of them had quit their jobs and were 'waiting for Jesus'. In chapter three of II Thessalonians he will tell them to get back to work.
But in the first two chapters Paul tries to make it very clear, that although we should live expecting to meet Jesus as any moment (after all any one of us does not know the day nor the hour of our last day on earth), he said there will be some clear signs preceding the coming of Jesus.
It is time to examine the content of Second Thessalonians
Verses 1 and 2 state who is writing and who is to be the recipient. Paul, together with Silas and Timothy is writing to the church of the Thessalonians. In the introduction he equates God the Father with the Lord Jesus Christ … and he says that the church is IN them. And Paul wishes for them the favor and peace from both the Father and from Jesus.
In verse 3 Paul expresses his thankfulness for their growing faith and for their growing love for one another in the church. Paul is using them as an example of how Christians ought to grow.
He mentions the incredible persecutions that they are enduring. If you stop and think about Paul first statement, that their love for one another is growing … no doubt that is partly as a result of what they are suffering. When we as believers are 'in something' together … it draws us closer together. Christians in hiding, 'huddle' together. Personal differences and preferences are set aside.
In verse 4 Paul once again mentions their situation with the words 'all' the persecutions and tribulations that they were enduring and adds the thought in verse 5 that God sees payback time as a righteous thing.
Then Paul adds a thought in verses 6 and 7 that would give them the impression that Jesus' coming could be in their lifetime. At least that is how it seems in verse 7
He seems to be saying, 'You will get your rest, your time of trouble will be over, when Jesus comes and destroys those who have been persecuting you.
We know, simply because we are 2000 years further down the road of history than these Thessalonians were, that Jesus had not and still has not returned and destroyed their persecutors …and we know that a time of rest has come to them … but it is the rest that we all get when we finally close our eyes here and go to be with the Lord.
This means we need to look for what the Holy Spirit is trying to get across to us. Allow me to insert a verse from the book of Revelation;
Re 6:9 ¶ When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
The 'souls' under the altar are believers who have been killed for their refusal to bow to the wishes of the Anti-christ. They are in heaven but they do not seem to be 'totally' at rest. If we were to be studying the book of Revelations we would read next that God does come down and destroy their persecutors.
It may be that this is what God wanted us and the Thessalonians to understand. Perhaps all he is saying is, “In my time … all of My children who have suffered at the hands of wicked men will be vindicated”. Pay day is coming. Believe that. Vengeance is God's business and God promises to settle the score.
Notice also in verse 7 the exact time that the score gets evened … when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, Before this time there is a 'rapture', an upward call. The dead in Christ will rise first (1Th 4:16) Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1Th 4:17)
In the previous two verses there is no mention of flaming vengeance. There is only mention of Jesus collecting us together to be with Him. The vengeance part comes later after we have attended the judgment seat of Christ, and the marriage supper of the 'Lamb2'. Both of these things occur in heaven. After the marriage supper comes this event: Re 19:11 ¶ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.
13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Verse 8 mentions who is on the receiving end of God's 'Flaming Vengeance'; those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel.
Basically speaking, there are not two groups of people. Those who do not know God … do not obey the gospel of God.
But if we are a bit more particular we could say that there are some who do know God … but they do not obey the gospel. Think of Cain in the book of Genesis. Did he know God? Yes, he heard His voice, he talked to God … but he did not like God and certainly did not obey God.
These will be punished with everlasting punishment (verse 9). More accurately the text says, 'everlasting destruction'. There are bible teachers and religious groups that emphasize the word destruction. In their view sinners will be burned up and cease to exist. Perhaps this view is taken because they have a hard time thinking that God could let anyone go on suffering for ever and ever. I would not mind taking this view myself, if I could believe it without distorting what the Bible is teaching.
So what does the Bible teach; everlasting punishment or everlasting destruction?
Revelation 20:13 states that wicked people who have been dead and in Hades for the past thousand years … are not out of existence, but they get called up for a final judgment and then are cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 14:11 says that the wicked will have no rest day and night forever and ever in the lake of fire.
Verse 10 says that their punishment begins when he comes down to this earth. Whose punishment? Thousands of unbelievers have died from Adam until now. They are already suffering in Hades. It was in Hades that the rich man of Luke 16 died, and then opened his eyes and found himself in a place of torment. Lu 16:23 "And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
So whose punishment begins on the day of his return? The answer is simple … the evil rejectors who are still alive and in power at the very end of the age will be destroyed by Jesus when He comes down from heaven will his army … who are all dressed in white robes. I understand this army to be the Christian bride of Christ, His church. Re 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
In addition I believe he has an army of angels with him. Mt 25:31 ¶ "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will … .
That will be an awesome and terrible day. Here are several references to this day taken from various places in the bible.
Joe 3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow—For their wickedness is great."14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.
16 The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
Eze 38:21 "I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man’s sword will be against his brother, 22 "And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
Re 16:19 Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.20 Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
21 And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.
Re 19:17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,18 "that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great."
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.
20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Jesus said it this way as he spoke to three of his disciples:
Mt 24:27 "For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
In verse 11 Paul prays that the Thessalonians would be counted 'worthy of this calling'. I don't want to 'read more into' the scripture than what is actually there. Some bible commentators have said that being worthy of the calling is referring to the rapture, and that some Christians may be left behind because they have not been living worthy lives. I have a difficulty with that view. What would be the 'cut-off' point for missing the rapture? Missing church for 23 Sundays out a year? On the other hand I do not want to paint a picture which shows Christians can be unholy in practice, that they can do pretty much what they please and because we are dressed in the Holiness of Christ … we all make it just fine.
I cannot find any clear verses in scripture that show that some Christians can possibly be left behind. I do find scriptures that indicate that 'unholiness' and disobedience in believers will not be overlooked, but it does not seem to affect whether they will be raptured or not.
So what do I see in this verse? I see Paul referring to the Christian life as a 'calling'. It is something very special to be a child of God. He is calling on the Thessalonians to continue 'living up to the name'. That is, he does not want them to become careless and bring reproach on the name of Jesus. He (Paul) actually goes into this in chapter 3.
Verse 12: It is Paul's prayer for them and for us … that the name of the Lord Jesus 'be glorified' in our lives. The word glorified means 'to shine brilliantly'. That is quite the opposite to living our lives selfishly and in that sense being unworthy of the name.
The point in all of this, is that we live our lives in such a way, allowing Jesus to shine brilliantly in us, so that others who do not know Jesus will be drawn to notice Him and will eventually bow their knee to Him.
Next Session – The Rapture
1Acts 17:5-10
2Re 19:8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’" .