1 Thessalonians 4-5
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Chapter 4
1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more – Pleasing God should be priority for the Christian. Cf. Gen 8:21; Psalm 19:14; John 5:30; Rom 12:1; Eph 5:10; Col 1:10; Heb 11:6.
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality – Greek: porneia.
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope – “ignorant” = “no knowledge”
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. – Those Christians who die will come back with Jesus at His Second Coming.
15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep – “The Lord’s own word” is probably direct revelation from Jesus to Paul. “Coming” = parousia = “alongside to be” (Divine Appearing).
“Proper Christian anticipation includes the imminent return of Christ. His coming will be sudden and unexpected, at any-moment possibility. This means that no divinely revealed prophesies remain to be fulfilled before that event. Without setting a deadline, Paul hoped that it would transpire in his own lifetime…Had this not been the Thessalonians outlook, their question regarding the dead in Christ and exclusion from the parousia would have been meaningless…An intervening period of Messianic woes or birth pangs was not their anticipation…(Best, p 183). Hence, Paul believed and had taught his converts that the next event on the prophetic calendar for them was their being gathered to Christ.” (Robert L. Thomas, Expositor’s Bible Commetary, page 278)
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first – A loud command: Cf. John 5:58. Trumpets used: Cf. Num 10:9-10; 2Sam 6:15; Lev. 23:24; Judges 6:34; 1Sam 13:3; 2Sam 15:10; 20:1. This is not the seventh trumpet of Revelation. The dead in Christ will rise first: either the present dead in Christ are with the Lord in a spiritual body awaiting their final resurrection body or they have already received their resurrection body because they live in eternity.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever – “caught up” = harpazo: to seize; catch away or up, pluck, pull, take by force. Cf. 1Cor 15:51-52 (flash = atomos = atom = uncut, cannot be divided; The Planck time is the time it would take a photon travelling at the speed of light to across a distance equal to the Planck length. This is the ‘quantum of time’, the smallest measurement of time that has any meaning, and is equal to 10-43 seconds. No smaller division of time has any meaning.).
Chapter 5
2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night – The Day of the Lord speaks of the Lord coming in judgment but can have an big picture meaning Cf. Isa 2:12; 13:6; Ezek. 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14 etc.
3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape – “destruction” is the breaking up of peace and safety. Labor pains used to speak of the Tribulation elsewhere in the Bible Cf. Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8. Labor pains increase with frequency and intensity.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ – Cf. Rev 6:15-17; Rom 6:10; Rom 5:9; 1Thess 1:10; Rev 3:10.
19 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire – Cf. Gal 5:16; Eph 5:8-10; Rom 8:5, 13; Gal 3:3; 6:8; Matt 26:41; Rom 7:18.
22 Avoid every kind of evil – KJV: Abstain from all appearances of evil.”
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ – The spirit is the highest most unique part of man enabling him to communicate with God;. The soul (psuche) is the part that makes him conscience of himself. The body is the physical part.
Leave a Reply 
