“…and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come“
for His Son
The Thessalonians waited for the return of the person of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God. To them, He is the matchless person who saved them from their sin and provided many assets both for time and for eternity. Besides, He will deliver them from their present problems by the rapture.
The factor that impressed the new Christians at Thessalonica was not the coming of Christ as much as the person who was to come. He was the object of their hope. May Jesus, rather than the things that accompany Him, be the center of our interest.
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know” (John 14: 1-4).
Principle:
We must both serve the Lord and wait for Him at the same time.
Application:
The Christian must both serve and wait. Doing one and not the other is not an option. Some Christians serve but do not wait. Others wait but do not serve. We should serve as if Jesus was never coming, and we wait in anticipation as if He were to come at any moment. This is not a paradox. The Christian must hold both of these truths in tension.
To live the full Christian life, we must expect the Savior’s coming. No prophecy needs to be fulfilled before He comes back. They wait for an imminent and looming rapture of the church to Heaven. Above all, Jesus is coming. We will personally meet Him at last.
“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?” (Romans 8:23-24).
“…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (1 Corinthians 1:7 ).
Please comment on the error of the following statement:
‘1 Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of past deliverance. In other words, when the Thessalonian Christians were saved they were delivered from the wrath to come, the judgment of God for their sin (Hell).
While 1 Thessalonians 5:9 teaches that God has not appointed us to wrath. There are two types of wrath in the tribulation. The wrath of satan (Rev 12:12) and the wrath of God (Rev 6:17). We will not suffer the wrath of God. He will seal His own (Rev 9:4) so that God’s wrath is only poured out on those who do not have His seal upon them. But the devil, knowing he only has a short time, will pour out his wrath through the beast (antichrist) upon Christians (Rev 13:7). The wrath of God is also appointed to fall on those who have taken the mark of the beast (Rev 16:2). So while plagues and curses (the wrath of God) are blasting the world, Christians will be supernaturally protected.’
Lowell, did you read all 6 studies on 1 Th 1:10?