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The Revelation of the Lord Jesus
The Day of the LORD and Believers in the Church Age Part 3: A Discussion of 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10, The Thessalonian Christians and the Revelation (Apokalupsis) of Christ to Grant Them Relief from Their Affliction and Impose Retribution on Their Persecutors By James T. Bartsch In 2
Thessalonians 1:7 Paul speaks of "the revelation (apokalupsis)
of the Lord Jesus." The word apokalupsis
is typically translated "revelation." Literally, it means an unveiling.
The most frequent use of apokalupsis
occurs in regard to prophetic revelation or unveiling (e.g., 1
Cor. 14:6, 26; Rom.
16:25; 2 Cor. 12:1, 7; Gal. 1:12; 2:2; Eph. 3:3; Rev. 1:1).
Almost as
frequently, apokalupsis
speaks of the revelation or unveiling of Jesus
in all His glory when He returns (1
Cor. 1:7; 2 Thess.
1:7; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 4:13; Rev. 1:1). Revelation
1:1 does double duty,
for there apokalupsis
is a pun - it refers to the prophetic revelation
which Jesus gives to the seven churches and to the Church
at large; but it also refers to the
unveiling of Jesus Himself in all His majestic glory to John (Rev.
1), to the seven churches
(Rev.
2-3), through His wrath to a rebellious world (Rev.
6-18); in
deadly judgment to hostile armies (Rev.
19-20); and in sacrificial
sovereignty to worshiping admirers (Rev.
21-22).
In my judgment, the evidence
of Scripture portrays Christ’s
return as occurring in two
stages. In the First Phase, Jesus returns to take His
Bride, the Church
out of this world, rescuing her from the coming wrath
of the
Tribulation
period. We call this event the Rapture.
It is referenced in
such
passages as John
14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18; and 2
Thessalonians 2:1. The theme portrayed in John
14:1-6, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and 2 Thessalonians 2:1 is Reunion
- reunion with departed loved ones and reunion with Jesus Christ. In
Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, his presentation of the
Rapture
(1
Thess. 4:13-18) is immediately followed by his discussion of
the Day
of the Lord, also known in the context of both Thessalonian
epistles as the Tribulation
(1
Thess.
5:1-11). At the conclusion of the Tribulation,
the Second
Phase of Christ’s
Return commences. Instead of meeting His
beloved ones in the air for a joyous reunion and escorting them to the
Father’s
House, Jesus will travel all the way to earth in power and great glory,
accompanied by an innumerable army of angels, and will destroy His
enemies (Psa.
110:5-7; Isa. 63:1-6; Zech. 14:1-15; Matt. 24:27-31; Mark 13:24-27;
Luke 21:27; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 19:11-21). Then He will judge
all humans who survive the Tribulation,
(Ezek.
20:33-38; Dan. 12:1-3; Mal. 3:1-6; Matt. 25; Luke 19:11-27)
and establish His global
reign (Psa.
110:1-2; Isa. 2:1-4; 11:1-10; Zech. 14:9; Rev. 20:1-6).
He will rule with a rod of iron, seated on His throne on Mt. Zion,
Jerusalem
(Psalm
2:6-9).
The theme of the second phase of Christ's parousia
is Retribution,
or
Vengeance. The phase of apokalupsis
to which Paul refers in 2
Thessalonians 1:7-8 is the unveiling of Christ
for the purpose of Retribution.
Once Jesus has dealt with His opponents, He will embark
upon a global reign here upon earth (Zech.
14:9). His Kingdom is described in glowing terms in a great
many
Old
Testament prophecies, including, for example, Isaiah
2:1-4; 9:7;
11:1-16;
60:1-22; 61:3-11; 62:1-12; 65:17-25 (this doubles as a
prophecy of the
Eternal
State); and Isa. 66:10-24
(portions also refer to the Eternal
State), to
mention
just a few. It is briefly touched on in the book of Revelation (Rev.
20:1-6),
where it is stated six times that His reign will last a thousand years.
Both
Amillennialists
and Historic
Premillennialists deny that Christ returns
in two
stages. Both also posit a Post-Tribulation
Rapture. Some adherents of a
Post-Tribulation
Rapture, almost with an air of superiority, deride the
Pre-Tribulational
view
of Scripture, wrongly suggesting that we think God is going to deliver
all
Christians from tribulation in any form. In their view, the Church
will have to go
through
the Tribulation. In his letters to the
Thessalonians, Paul has a lot to say about eschatology.
In 1
Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 and again in 2
Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:1-12, the parousia
of
Christ and the Tribulation
(“Day
of the Lord”) are on his mind. In 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 Paul debunks two myths that Post-Tribulationists hold – (1) that those who hold to the Pre-Tribulation Rapture evidently think there will be no suffering in this life and (2) that Christ’s Second Coming is only in one stage. (1)
Paul opens his second
letter to the
Thessalonians expressing gratefulness for their growing faith and
mutual love
(2
Thess. 1:1-3). (2) He commends them for their “perseverance and faith in the midst of all [their] persecutions and afflictions which [they] endure.” (2 Thess. 1:4-5). I do not know of a single Pre-Tribulationist who believes Christians will not experience tribulation in this life. Indeed, Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul certainly believed that Christians suffer tribulation, and so did the Thessalonians. They were the ones suffering. But affirming that all Christians suffer in tribulation is a great deal different than affirming that all living Church-Age Christians will suffer in the Tribulation when it arrives. The former is a Biblical truth. The latter, I believe, is not. Paul preached the former, but he preached the opposite of the latter. We have already looked at his exempting of Christians from the Day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. In a subsequent essay we shall observe that he teaches the same truth in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. (3)
“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord
(Rom.
12:19). God will
repay with affliction those who afflict both the Thessalonians and Paul
and you and me, Christians of this era. Paul gave a graphic account of
the Second Phase of Christ’s Return, His Second
Coming in Power to
wreak vengeance on His enemies preparatory to setting up His kingdom.
Here is the stunning language, recorded in 2
Thessalonians 1:6-10:
6For
after all it is only
just
for God to repay with affliction those who
afflict you, 7and to give relief to you who are afflicted
and
to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His
mighty
angels in flaming fire,8dealing out retribution to
those who do not
know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9These
will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of
the Lord
and from the glory of His power, 10when He comes to be glorified
in
His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have
believed—for
our testimony to you was believed.
Conclusion:
It is best to understand 2
Thessalonians 1:3-10 as referring to the Second
Phase of Christ's Second
Coming - Retribution
- His return in power and glory to
wreak vengeance on His adversaries and those of the saints. At that
time the saints will be vindicated.
At present, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is the next event in eschatology. At that time, Christ will return to earth's atmosphere and call up the living and deceased members of the Church to a Reunion in the clouds. We call this event the Rapture. According to His own promise (John 14:1-6) He will take all the Church-Age saints with Him back to the Father's House. Subsequently, there will be a time of great Tribulation that afflicts the earth. Paul describes this time as "the day of the Lord" in 1 Thessalonians 5:2, and again in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 ff. The Church, having been rescued from the wrath of the Tribulation, is excluded from those catastrophic events. At the end of the Tribulation period, Christ will return in power and glory to defeat His enemies, judge the survivors of the Tribulation, and establish His reign over the entire earth from Jerusalem, Israel. The language of 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 depicts this Second Phase of Christ's Return. |
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