1 Thess - Chapter 5

1 Thessalonians - Chapter 5

The Apostle Paul has given the Thessalonian believers sound doctrine concerning the Rapture of the Church.  In this section of his letter to them, which we know of as chapter 5, he now gives detailed information on what to expect before it happens.

• One important thing the Apostle Paul was specific to say as he finished the promise of the catching away (rapture) of the Church was that they were to comfort one another with these words.  In other words, there is nothing to be afraid about, but just trust that the Lord is taking care of them.
• On that note, we will continue...

Concerning Times and Seasons

Undestanding Times and Seasons

5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 

The Thessalonian believers were already aware of the times and seasons because of the evil and persecution that surrounded them in their day.  As the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel to them during his three-week stay in Thessalonica (Acts 17:2), the surrounding evil was part of the reason many of them came to Christ.  Persecution was a part of the times and seasons.

The Full Gospel of Christ

Looking toward the imminent time of the return of Christ was an important part of the Gospel.  So many people think, even today, that the Gospel is preaching Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, which is absolutely true, but they omit that part of the Gospel which tells us that Jesus, up on heaven, is praying for His body down on the earth and the time is coming very soon when He will gather His body together as "one" to bring them up to heaven to spend eternity with Him. 

Let's review the five points of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus is the Son of God, yet God
2. Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of mankind, shedding His blood on the cross.
3. God rose Jesus from the dead
4. Jesus is up in heaven interceding for the needs of His body
5. Jesus is coming back very soon to gather His body to Himself for all eternity.

All five points are an essential part of the Gospel.  Just as much as Jesus is the Son of God, yet being God, and that He came to earth to die for the sins of mankind - and just as God rose Him from the dead, it is imperative to know that Jesus is presently up in heaven interceding for the needs of His believers here on earth, and a time is coming soon when He will return to bring His body of believers up to heaven in glorified bodies to spend eternity with Him forever.

The Times of the Jews

The Jewish people had almost 2000 years of following after the Mosaic Law which prophesied over and over of the coming Messiah.  Plenty of time to not only reach the Jewish population, but for them to prepare for His coming.  When He finally did come, His own people, the Jews, rejected Him.  All by God's design, our Bibles tell us that in John 3:16 that Jesus came to save the whole world. 

At that time, there were only two groups of people throughout the world - the Jews and the Gentiles....believers and unbelievers.

• The founding of the Jewish faith began small through Abraham, then grew through Moses and the exodus of the Israelites in the wilderness.
• As the Jewish faith was pure and true in its beginning, as time continued, man-made laws, traditions and rituals entered in and turned a faith in God and the anticipation of the forthcoming Messiah into a religion of works.  
• At the time of Christ's 1st coming, Judaism was simply a dead religionand His own people denied that He was their forthcoming Messiah.
• As such, God turned to the Gentile people.

The Times of the Gentiles

Our Bibles tell us in Rom. 11:25 that God is now allowing the Gentiles an opportunity to come into salvation in Jesus Christ.  That has been going on for almost 2000 years, which, by the way, is the same amount of time that God gave the Jewish people to prepare and come to Him before His 1st coming to earth.

• Not until the fullness of the Gentiles would happen would the Day of the Lord occur.  Our Bibles also tell us that the Day of the Lord will happen when every nation of the Gentiles has had a chance to hear the Gospel (Matt 24:14).  While not every person in every nation has heard the Gospel, every "nation" on the face of the earth has heard. 
• As believers in Christ, our instructions are go preach AND disciple the Gospel to all nations (Mark 16:15 & Matt 28:18-20).  That has happened.  As the Gospel reaches a nation through missionary journeys, then the nationals, as new disciples, are given the same commandment from God - Go preach and disciple the Gospel to the people their nation and beyond.

Food for thought:

Doing some simple mathematics:

• From Adam to Abraham was about 2000 years
• From Abraham to Christ's death on the cross was about 2000 years (Times of the Jews).
• From the Day of Pentecost (the beginning of the Church) to today (29 A.D. to 2021) is just 8 years short of 2000 years (Times of the Gentiles).
• Add 7 years for the Tribulation Period, we have only one year left of 2000 years.
• Allowing for the 1000-year reign of Christ upon the earth, that will conclude 7000 years of which most biblical scholars claim will be the consumption of the earth.
• That means, we "could be" just one year before the Rapture of the Church.   
• Just speculating, of course.

The Jewish calendar and our calendar today differ about four years from the time of Christ's birth until today.  And some of the above figures from Adam to the Day of Pentecost are approximately 4000 years, so I cannot be completely accurate on my dates.  But then, our Bibles tell us, by God's design, we will not know the day nor hour, but only the times and season.  We can anticipate, however, with excitement, the coming of the Rapture of the Church, which appears to be very, very soon!

Christian Persecution

The Christians of the 1st century were experiencing persecution in only their part of the world because that was the only place where Christianity existed.  As Christianity spread to the utter most parts of the world, and as the centuries have drawn closer to today, more and more people of the nations of the world  have come to Christ and are experiencing Christian persecution.  Persecution will always follow Christianity in the battle for good versus evil continues.  Today Christian persecution is world-wide.  That is a sure sign that the end is upon us.

To the 1st century believers in Asia Minor, the Roman Empire was their entire world.  They were unaware of other civilizations upon the earth.  As they experienced persecution, it is easy to understand how they thought the end was near.  Even from the perspective of the Apostle Paul, God gave to him what he needed to know.  He knew and honored the command of the Lord to go into all the world to preach and disciple the Gospel.  He also knew the teachings of Jesus when He said the whole world must hear the Gospel.  To the apostle and those of the 1st century Roman world, the area surrounding the Mediterrean Sea was the whole world.  That is why Paul went to Spain after his imprisonment in Rome - as secular history tells us.  He literally thought the end of the world was Spain.  As such, he thought the commandments of the Lord were fulfilled in his day. 

The Day of the Lord

The Day of the Lord
"The Day of the Lord is a familiar Old Testament expression denoting the day when God intervenes in history to judge His enemies, deliver His people, and establish His kingdom.  It does not refer to a single day, but to a season when God rapidly advances His agenda to the end of the age"  Hiebert

² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  ⁵ You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.

The Apostle Paul was not one to set dates in reference to prophecy.  Since he spent so much time in the presence of the Lord, he already knew the words of Jesus from Matt 24:36 that God wants the Day of the Lord (the time of God's intervention) to be one of unexpectation to the world, but that His people need to be prepared for the unexpected.  Just as a pregnant woman grows in her pregnancy, as the time of birth approaches, it becomes apparent to those around her the time is coming close.  In an unbeliever, however, they are not even aware that the woman is pregnant to know the time of birth is approaching.

• As such, the apostle taught the Thessalonian believers that the Day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night to an unbelieving world; but it would not be as a thief in the night to the believers in Christ. 
• All unbelievers, Jew and Gentile alike, including the religious teachers of their day, could not discern the signs of the times (Matt 16:1-3); therefore, how could they know when God was ready to come to judge His enemies, deliver His people, and establish His kingdom?  They were spiritually blind and were walking in total darkness. 

The same thing is true today! 
While true believers are watching and waiting for that Day (or season) to come, the unbelievers will say "everything is fine" - "peace and safety" is here. 
Then suddenly destruction will come upon them like a thief in the night like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, but it will be too late. 

The Rapture of the Church will have come, they were left behind, and there will be no escape for them.

The Apostle now points out to the believers in Thessalonica by saying:  "But you!"  In other words, Paul is addressing the behavior of these Thessalonian believers in that they need to act out who they really are in Christ.  They are sons of light.  They need not be in the dark over any of this.  Darkness was their past life before they came Christ.  So then, whether the Lord returns today, tomorrow, next month, next year, or whenever, believers need to live in continuous preparation against the unexpected.  Whenever Christ does come, true Christians will be watchful, knowing the times and the seasons, thus His return will not be a surprise.  

Be Awake, sober, and Watchful

⁶ Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Therefore, he tells them -since you are not to walk in darkness, but in the light, do not sleep during the day, but at night. 

Sleep
This Greek word "sleep" here is different from those who "sleep" in Christ as in 1 Thess 4:13.  This Greek word "sleep"may or may not speak of sleeping versus being awake,
but their spiritual condition being inactive, ignorant, insensitive to one's surroundings and laziness.

For those who are in darkness, meaning unbelievers, are asleep during the day and get drunk at night.  Their sleep also means being inactive, ignorant, insensitive to one's surroundings and laziness.  As believers, we are to be watchful and sober and stand strong in faith in the hope of our salvation.  Spiritually, we need to be active, watchful and sober, meaning caring and being fully aware of our surroundings - a balanced way of life.

Believers Called to Salvation - Not Wrath

Salvation 
Greek - Sozo
Salvation consists all three areas of life - spirit, soul, and body - in this life and in the life to come 

⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Because true believers are awake, soberminded, and growing in faith, they are not going to experience the wrath that will come with the Day of the Lord.  Instead, they will be raptured to meet the Lord in the air, receive their glorified bodies, which joins the spirit, soul, and glorified body together.  This time, it will be forever and no separation. 

• Mankind in his sinfulness has always been appointed to wrath (Rom 5:14-19).  That is why God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins.  Those who believe in Him, receiving Him unto themselves are freed from the wrath that will come upon mankind on the Day of the Lord.  We can be secured in that promise, and whether He comes for His body during the day or the nighttime while we sleep, we can be assured He will rescue us from the wrath that is coming upon the earth. 

¹¹ Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

We can all rely on God's promise to us.  We are no longer appointed to wrath, but to salvation - in this life and in the life to come.  Therefore, keep giving comfort to your brothers and sisters in the Lord with these words, edifying (building up) them in God's promise to us.

Carnal Believers

You ask - what is a true believer?  Those are the ones who purposefully striving to grow in their faith and live holy lives for Christ.  Carnal believers, on the other hand, are believers (or claim to be believers), but live just like the world.  These believers are on a downward slippery slope to one day possibly denying Christ and end up in hell, unless they change the direction of their life.

Instruction Toward the Leaders Within the Church

¹² And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, ¹³ and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

The Apostle Paul is urging the Thessalonian believers to do three things in regard to the leaders of their church.  The same thing is true of the Church today.

1. Recognize them who labor among you: Christians are to recognize their leaders, and leadership abilities. 
   
   Leaders should be acknowledged by their service, not their title.   While God ordained the five-fold ministry gifts for the edifying and building up of the church, these leaders need to be doing the service in which they have been ordained. 
     
2. Esteem them highly in love for their labor:  Nobody deserve respect simply because of their title or personality, but because of how they minister and serve the Lord over the congregtion. 
   
   Very few congregants realize the work involved by those who have spiritual oversight over them.  If a Christian can’t esteem and love their pastor, they should either get on their knees, asking the Holy Spirit to change their heart, or find another church to where they can put themselves under a pastor they do esteem and love.
   
   
3. Be at peace among yourselves:
   
   Learn to get along.  This is a command from the apostle for Christians to get along.  This is also the wish of every pastor who labors in love over their congregant.   As such, this is a great way to esteem and love the leaders of your church.

Instruction Toward Others in the Church

¹⁴ Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. ¹⁵ See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.

It seems that every congregation has a challenging people.  The Apostle Paul is warning the leaders of the church, as well as the congregation on how to deal with such people.  The apostle is urging, without being sharp, condemning, rebuking  with a critical spirit.

• Be patient with everyone
• Never render evil for evil to anyone.  Never seek revenge, but forgiveness.
• Pursue good for everyone
• Warn those who are self-willed, opinionated and unruly - out of order.
• Comfort the timid and those who lack courage.  For those suffering grief, stand alongside them in their pain.
• Help build up the weak for them to see their own strength.  Don't enable them to stay in their weakness.                                                                                   

Personal Instruction

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

In all this, rejoice always.  Purpose to rejoice even in the midst of trials and tribulation.  Keep giving everything over to the Lord continuously.  Live a life filled with thanksgiving, and worship.  This is how God wants you to live.

Spiritual Instructions

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not despise prophecies. ²¹ Test all things; hold fast what is good. ²² Abstain from every form of evil.

Quenching the Spirit:  Quenching, or stopping the move of the Spirit can be done in all areas of our life.  Our indifference, distractions, drawing attention to oneself, or rejection of when He comes upon or moves within us will halt the Holy Spirit from moving in our life. 

• In public worship or prayer, by allowing any quenching of the Spirit stops the flow of God
• When the Holy Spirit is personally speaking to us with direction, we have the choice to listen and obey or quench the Spirit from flowing within us.  When we listen and obey, the Spirit can move to accomplish God's purpose upon the earth.  When quenched, the Spirit stops, and God's hands are tied in us.

b. Do not despise prophecies: We recognize that the Lord speaks to and through His people today, and we learn to be open to His voice. Of course, we always test prophecies (following the command to test all things), but we do not despise prophecies.

i. It is very possible that prophesy was being despised because individuals were abusing the gift. There were idlers among the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12), perhaps who spiritualized their idleness with prophecy. There were date-setters and end-times speculators among the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5), perhaps who backed up their speculations with supposed prophetic authority.

c. Test all things; hold fast what is good: Evil and deception can show itself even in a spiritual setting, so it is important for Christians to test all things. When the test has been made (according to the standard of God’s Word and the discernment of spirit among the leaders), we then hold fast to what is good.

d. Abstain from every form of evil: When the testing is made, any aspect of evil must be rejected. This includes evil that may come with a spiritual image.

Spirit, Soul, and Body

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

As Paul closes his letter, he gives a blessing to them, which was customary for a father to his children or in this case an apostle to those he discipled.  In this blessing, it it like a prayer and exhortation that God would set them apart for His service completely as they live holy before the Lord.  While a believer purposes to be obedient to the Word, God is the one who is setting that believer apart from the world.  The two work together as explained in the last two chapters. 

Because man is a three-part being, made up of spirit, soul, and body, the Apostle Paul is asking these believers that they remain pure in all three areas of life.  They need to remain set-apart unto sanctification of our Lord Jesus Christ.  An explanation of spirit, soul, and body is shown in the chart below:

We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a physical body

In addition, the apostle is pointing out that at the coming of our Lord, even though the spirit/soul has left the body and has died, at the coming of our Lord Jesus, our spirit, soul, and body again will be joined together with we meet the Lord in the clouds at the Rapture of the Church. 

Asking for Prayer

²⁵ Brethren, pray for us.

The Apostle Paul believed in the power of prayer, and it wasn't beneath him to ask for prayer from those he ministered to, showing his humble heart. 

The Holy Kiss

²⁶ Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

Paul asked of those who read this letter to greet all the Christians in Thessalonica on his behalf with a holy kiss.  Similar to our hand shake or a hug today, the holy kiss was an an ancient Christian greeting to express peace to one another.  During the 1st century, men and women were segregated in the assembling in church, so when the holy kiss was exchanged, men gave a peck of a kiss on the cheek to another man and women did the same thing with other women. 

A Command From the Lord 

²⁷ I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

The apostle is stressing that he received a command from the Lord that this letter is to be read to the whole church throughout Thessalonica, including other brothers and sisters they come in contact with them throughout Macedonia and Achaiah.   Perhaps this began a custom of public readings of all of Paul's letters to the churches - not just the pastors, but the whole church.  As such, it became a substitute for his personal appearance with them. 

These letters are God's Word to us today.  As such, we take them as coming directly from God through His apostle to us - the Church.

Closing Salutation

28  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Amen

This closing salutation of the Apostle Paul's first letter to a church beame his customary closing as he finished nearly every letter to the various churches.  Paul was bestowing upon the God's grace, meaning God's unmerited favor at Christ's expense.  As such, he is extending God's very best to all of them.

The closing word of Amen is a transliteration of the Hebrew word amen (em'a).  The verb form occurs more than one hundred times in the Old Testament, and it means to establish or believe something to be true - so be it!  Amen (2)

 

End Notes

(1)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_kiss

(2)  www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/amen