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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Day of Christ, #32
Now we beseech you, brothers, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (II Thessalonians 2:1)
Notice the expression, "our gathering together unto him." This expression ties Second Thessalonians with Matthew, Chapter 24.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven [of the heavens] to the other. (Matthew 24:31)
Since we know that Matthew 24:31 will take place "immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Matthew 24:29), it is clear that when Paul says "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thessalonians 2:1) he is speaking of the coming that will take place "immediately after the tribulation of those days."
Would a serious Bible student claim there will be two different gatherings together of the saints to be with the Lord?
If one did not have a preconceived interpretation that he was attempting to apply, it appears certain he would think that Paul was continuing along the line of thought with which he began the epistle and that he had introduced in his first letter to the saints in Thessalonica.
What is the subject of the second chapter of Second Thessalonians?
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him.
What is the subject of First Thessalonians 4:13-5:23?
The coming of our Lord Jesus our Christ (4:15 and 5:23) and our gathering together unto Him (4:17).
How, then, can someone teach that Paul is speaking of a disappearing of the saints in First Thessalonians and a separate coming of the Lord in Second Thessalonians?
Please keep in mind that in neither First Thessalonians nor Second Thessalonians does Paul speak of a disappearing of the saints or of their being carried from the earth to Heaven. The disappearing and being carried up to Heaven are pure conjecture. Why do we flagrantly violate sound principles of Scripture interpretation in connection with the coming of the Lord? Is it the deception of which Christ warned?
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (II Thessalonians 2:2)
"The day of Christ is at hand." The Day of Christ? Unless Paul is jumping from one subject to another he is identifying the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him with the one Day of Christ.
When the Lord descends from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God, and the dead are raised, is this not the Day of Christ? Is it not the Day of the Lord? Is there another Day of the Lord? Do the Scriptures reveal plainly that there are two Days of the Lord? Does the Apostle Paul or any of the other Apostles speak of two Days of the Lord?
When the Lord comes from Heaven and we are gathered together to Him, is this not the Day of Christ?
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (II Thessalonians 2:3)
What "day" will not come? Is it not the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, the Day that Paul has discussed consistently, that will not come until first there occurs the great apostasy and the revealing of Antichrist?
To be continued.