As I was studying for my Sunday night sermon I again noticed
that Paul makes another reference to the coming (parousia) of Christ in 1
Thessalonians 5.23. This is the 4th time Paul has specifically
identified the parousia in this
letter. Since I was at the end of the 1st letter I went on to read
the 2nd letter to the church at Thessalonica and I noticed that Paul
immediately goes into describing the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter
1. In verse 1:7, Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus being revealed from heaven with
his might angles in flaming fire inflicting vengeance on those who do not know
God.
Now at this point I want to know has Paul made a 7 year jump
in time and events. If I assume that the reference to the parousia in 1
Thessalonians 5:23 is a pre-tribulation rapture I must now ask: Is Paul now
talking about something completely different? Is this the same “coming” as in
v. 23 of the last chapter in the previous letter written by the same man and to
the same church? Or is it a different event?
So what happens if I keep reading? When I get to chapter 2
v. 1, I see that Paul is talking about the coming (parousia) of the Lord Jesus
again. Only in this verse he specifically mentions ‘our being gathered together
to him.’ So I wonder has Paul made another shift in comings. Is Paul going back
and forth with another jump back in time? Is our gathering different from the
rapture? Certainly not! But in the context of the chapter it would certainly
need to be. It seems that the gathering is closely associated with the parousia.
Is Paul going back and forth between the pre-tribulation
rapture and the post-tribulation Second Coming? Is this what is happening? I
know for sure that the coming of Christ in 2 Thessalonians 2 is NOT a
pre-tribulation coming because Paul specifically identifies the revelation of
the Beast, the man of sin or lawlessness—the Antichrist as happening before
Christ comes. So our gathering together to him must not be the pre-tribulation rapture
or we are gathered in him twice.
Perhaps the rapture gathers us the first time from the earth
but then after 7 years in heaven we need to be gathered again to go back to the
earth. Is this what is being described? If the answer is ‘yes’ I want to know how
would I know this from what the Bible says. In other words what in the scripture
alerts me to the transition back and forth from one chapter to another since
Paul doesn’t switch words?
Why don't you study it out for yourself and make a list of the 7 reference and write rapture or 2nd Coming next to each of the references to the parousia and then ask how did I make my decision?
In 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Jesus Christ kills the Antichrist
with the “breathe of his mouth and brings to nothing at the appearance of his
coming (parousia).”
So what am I to make of all these references to the parousia? There are a total of 7 of them
between both letters. Will I actually have a standard of interpretation that
says Paul is using the same word to describe two different events separated by
7 years when he specifically identifies things that give a time marker with the
parousia in 2 Thessalonians 2?
How inconsistent should I be? If I am going to
inconsistently interpret the text should I not have a reason for doing that?
Wouldn’t I need some text to tell me that the same word is
used in a different way for two different events one that happens before the
tribulation and one after?
Why don’t you read it for yourself from chapter 5 of 1
Thessalonians to the end of 2 Thessalonians and see if you don’t agree with me
that Paul is in all probability describing the same event which occurs at the end
of the tribulation and includes our gathering together to him (the rapture)?
The more I study the Bible, the more convinced I am that I
have previously let a particular system of eschatology--pretribulational dispensationalism determine how I read and
interpret the scriptures.
Have you?
