THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians
Message Four
The Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Scripture Reading: 1 Thes. 4:15-18; 5:15-18; 2 Thes. 2:1-12; Dan. 2:28; 9:24-27
I. The two Epistles to the Thessalonians were written in the light of the Lord’s coming; the Lord’s coming (Gk. parousia) is His presence—1 Thes. 4:15; Matt. 24:3; 2 Thes. 2:19: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
A. Every chapter of 1 Thessalonians ends with the coming of the Lord; this shows that the writer, Paul, lived and worked with the Lord’s coming before him, taking it as an attraction, an incentive, a goal, and a warning—1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-18; 5:23. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
B. Because we are awaiting the Son of God from the heavens, our future is focused on Him; our life declares that we have no hope on this earth and no positive destiny in this age, and that our hope is the coming Lord, who is our destiny forever; this governs, holds, and keeps our Christian life for the church life—1:10; 2 Thes. 2:1, 8. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
II. We need to see “the coming [presence—Gk. parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him”—2 Thes. 2:1-12: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
A. Before the three and a half years of the great tribulation, the overcomers among the believers will be raptured into Christ’s presence (parousia) in the heavens—Rev. 12:5-6; 14:1-5; Luke 21:34-36; Matt. 24:36-44. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
B. At the end of the three and a half years of the great tribulation, the second half of the last week in Daniel 9:27, the majority of the believers, both the dead and resurrected and the living, will be raptured into Christ’s presence (parousia) in the air; First Thessalonians 4:16-17 speaks of this rapture, which corresponds to the reaping of the harvest in Revelation 14:14-16. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
III. The prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 shows that the day of the Lord’s coming is very near; the seventy weeks are divided into three parts, each week being seven years in length—cf. 2 Pet. 1:19: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
A. First, seven weeks (49 years) were apportioned from the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-8) to the completion of the rebuilding—Neh. 2:1-8; Dan. 9:25. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
B. Second, sixty-two weeks (434 years) were apportioned from the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the cutting off (crucifixion) of the Messiah—vv. 25-26. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
C. Third, the last week of seven years will be for Antichrist to make a firm covenant with the people of Israel (v. 27); in the middle of that week, he will break the covenant, terminate Israel’s sacrifices and oblations to God, and persecute those who fear God (v. 27; Rev. 13:1-18); this will be the beginning of the great tribulation, which will last for three and a half years—v. 27; Rev. 13: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
1. When there is news that such strong man, signs a treaty of seven years, with Israel, we have to prepare ourselves to be raptured—Matt. 24:32-44. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
2. At the beginning of the great tribulation, Antichrist’s image will be set up in the temple as an idol and he will sit in the temple of God, exalting himself above every object of worship; this means that the temple must be rebuilt before the great tribulation begins—Matt. 24:15, 21; Rev. 13:14-15; 2 Thes. 2:3-4; Dan. 11:36-37. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
D. There is a gap of unknown duration between the first sixty-nine weeks and the last week of the seventy weeks; this gap is the age of mystery, the age of grace, the age of the church—Eph. 3:3-11; 5:32; Col. 1:27: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
1. During this age Christ is secretly and mysteriously building up the church in the new creation to be His Body and His bride—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 25-32. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
2. At the end of the last week of the seventy weeks, Christ with His overcomers, His bridal army, will come as the smiting stone to crush the totality of human government and become a great mountain, the kingdom of God, that fills the whole earth—Dan. 2:34-35; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 19:19-20. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
IV. We must be those who have dispensational value to God “in the last days,” those who are being prepared to be God’s dispensational instrument, Christ’s bridal army, to turn the age for the glory of God and the kingdom of God—Dan. 2:28; Rev. 12:1-5; 14:1-5; 19:7-9, 13-16: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
A. Every time God wants to make a dispensational move, an age-turning move, He must obtain His dispensational instrument; we must be those who have dispensational value to God in the last days to turn the age—12:5-11; 1:20; Dan. 12:3; 9:23; 10:11, 19. (2005 TGC, msg. 6)
B. The goal of God’s eternal economy, the goal of the divine history within human history, is to have the corporate Christ, Christ with His overcomers, as the crushing stone to be His dispensational instrument to end this age and become a great mountain, the kingdom of God—2:28, 31-45; Joel 3:11; Rev. 12:1-2, 5, 11; 14:1-5; 19:7-21. (2005 TGC, msg. 6)
C. Simply speaking, recovery is to overcome; to be in the Lord’s recovery is to be in the Lord’s overcoming, being prepared to be His overcoming bride for His return—2:7; 3:21; 19:7-9. (2005 TGC, msg. 6)
V. The Lord will come secretly as a thief to those who love Him and will steal them away as His treasures to bring them into His presence in the heavens; hence, we must watch and make ourselves ready to be His bride—Dan. 10:19; Matt. 24:42-44; 25:13; Rev. 19:7; 22:20: (2005 ST, msg. 10)
A. Every “today” that we have is truly the Lord’s grace; therefore, as long as we have today, as long as we still have breath, we should love the Lord and His appearing, await the Lord’s coming (Phil. 3:20), and always take His coming as an encouragement. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
B. We must be absolutely consecrated to God, having one heart to love Him, seek Him, live Him, and be constituted with Him to be His expression—Jer. 32:39. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
C. We must be reconstituted with the holy word of God, reading the Bible all the days of our life—Col. 3:16; Deut. 17:18-20; Psa. 119:15-16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
D. We must persevere in prayer to glorify God, thank God, worship God, and serve God; our prayer and our being should be totally for God’s interests—Dan. 6:10; 9:17; 1 Kings 8:48; cf. Rom. 1:21, 25. (2005 ST, msg. 10)
E. We must be watchful, on the alert, for our prayer life, cooperating with the indwelling, sanctifying Spirit to live a rejoicing, praying and thanking life as a glory to God and a shame to His enemy—Matt. 25:13; 1 Thes. 5:16-18. (2005 ST, msg. 10)