Saturday Sep 25 730 8pm William Bell Coming of the Lord 2 Thes P3

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the All Things Fulfilled broadcast, presented to you by the Rains Road Church of Christ, located at 33 East Rains Road, here in Memphis, Tennessee. It's a delight always to be with you. I'm looking forward to another study on the coming of the Lord from the Epistle to the Thessalonians, and we'll be underway just shortly. First, we encourage you to download our mobile app, which is All Things Fulfilled. You can go to the Google Play Store and download it at no charge. It's free, and it will tie in many of our resources, such as the websites, the YouTube channel, the podcasts that we have, and also our social media. On all of those where we have a presence, you'll have access to it. We hope that you'll take advantage of downloading the app right to your mobile phones. Now, let's get into our study on 2 Thessalonians, where we're talking about the coming of the Lord. We're in chapter two. We spent a little bit of time laying just a brief foundation from Acts chapter 17, where Paul went into the synagogues. He taught them the gospel, but he was met with opposition from the Jews in the area, because they saw him teach other Jews, as well as the Greeks, and this kind of upset them. Well, it didn't kind of. It upset them highly, and so they began to oppose them. They began to accuse some of the brethren of turning the world upside down and going contrary to the decrees of Caesar. They were doing all of these things, and in the process of doing them, they were, in fact, opposing the gospel. They weren't content to allow those things to just occur from the perspective of the events that transpired in Thessalonica, but Paul, Timothy, and Silas, but Paul particularly, went down to the city of Berea, and the Jews followed him down there, as well, and they created a lot of stir. They were persecuting the disciples, and in doing so, it created some trouble for them, and so we looked at that trouble that was mentioned in both 1 Thessalonians, where the Bible talks about there was a wrath coming upon the Jews for forbidding the apostles to speak to the Gentiles and saying that they were contrary to all men, that they did not please God, and so they were filling up their cup of iniquity through these persecutions that they were doing and committing against the saints, and then as a result of that, the Bible says the wrath is coming upon them to the uttermost, and so this is what we have as a backdrop for 2 Thessalonians, and so in verses four through six of the chapter, we see where they were enduring sufferings and tribulation and patience, and the Bible says this was a manifest token. This was a sign, if you please, a sign that of the righteous judgment of God that they would be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which they suffered, and so God is telling them that these sufferings that you're undergoing are a sign that I'm going to bring this judgment that he had spoken of on those who were troubling them, on those who were persecuting them, on those who were chasing him from city to city, as were some in Thessalonica doing, and so in verses five and six of 2 Thessalonians chapter one, he says which is a manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you also suffer, so these were Thessalonians in the first century around 50, 51 AD who were then suffering these tribulations and persecutions, and so God said since it is a righteous thing to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are trouble rest with us, but when was all this going to take place? First thing he was going to do, he was going to recompense with tribulation the very Jews who were persecuting the saints in those days. He was going to recompense with tribulation those Jews who were troubling them. Now the second thing he was going to do was he was going to give rest to those who were being troubled. In other words, he was going to give them some respite. He was going to bless them with rest from the persecutions, from this trouble, from all the suffering that they were enduring by those Jews who were there in the first century. Now it's so important that you understand the historical time frame and the relevance of this text to the audience to whom it was written, because you see we don't have Jews in Thessalonica persecuting the church today. We don't have this scenario going on today. This was going on in the time of Paul, and the Bible makes that very, very clear. And so he says that this retribution that was going to be brought upon them would happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Now we cannot miss that. In other words, the Lord was going to be revealed. An unveiling of the Lord was going to occur to stop, to put an end to the persecutions that were being done by the Jews of that day. And that's also the time when he would give rest to his disciples. But the Bible says that was a coming in flaming fire where he would take vengeance. And I gave you some texts on vengeance from Deuteronomy 32, 35, where he says, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord, and the Lord will judge his people again in verse 41. And in verse 43, when the Gentiles would come in to the faith, this would be the timeframe when God would meet out this vengeance to them. So he puts it all together in the text in Luke chapter 21, verses 20 through 22, when he says, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart and let not those who are in the countries enter her. Why? For these are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled. So the Bible says when the Roman armies came to encompass the city of Jerusalem and to destroy it as they did under the emperor Titus, after his father Vespasian went off to be crowned emperor in Rome, Titus, his son who was left in charge, brought the city to destruction. And there were over a million Jews destroyed in that. And many more were taken captive. And as a result of that, we have this judgment, this retribution, untold suffering that came upon them, famine, pestilence, and the sword, and many other things that happened to them during this siege in 70 AD. But that was called the Lord coming in flaming fire. Now where do we get this concept of the Lord coming in flaming fire? It's found in Isaiah chapter 66, in the 66th chapter of Isaiah. So let's take a look at that for just a moment, and we will see the context. The Bible says in Isaiah 66, and the verses are 15 and 16, it says, for behold, the Lord will come with fire and with his chariots like a whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword, the Lord will judge all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be many. Now this was the vengeance that he was going to take on the people of Israel who were persecuting the saints. And it's called the coming in flaming fire. But this is an Old Testament passage, right? And that tells you that it has to be fulfilled since the old covenant is fulfilled. The old covenant prophecies are fulfilled. And since they are fulfilled, then that means that this judgment has occurred. Once again, in verse six of chapter 66, he says, the sound of the noise from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord who fully repays his enemies. So there's the vengeance that is being spoken out. It's the Lord repaying his enemies, but that's called a coming of the Lord in flaming fire. Now, it wasn't a literal flaming fire that destroyed them, even though they did burn the city, et cetera. Even though Josephus records, there were chariots that were circling the city in the temple in the heavens. But the Bible is saying in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of Christ. Now, this was going to happen in that day when he comes to be glorified in his saints, among all those who believe, because Paul said, our testimony among you was believed. So he's talking about those saints to whom he had preached, whom he had gathered with to break bread, et cetera, in Thessalonica in the first century. Now, in chapter two is where we left off. We were talking about several things that were taking place. One, we have the gathering of the saints together. The Bible says, now, brethren concerning the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we have the coming of the Lord mentioned. So it is the parousia, the coming of the Lord. That's the term that we use to talk about the second coming. So we have the parousia of the Lord. And then secondly, he says, and our gathering together to him. Now look, all of the people who talk about the gathering, whether you want to talk about the gathering of Israel, which is what they generally are saying, the gathering of Israel, all of them will acknowledge that it will take place at the coming of the Lord. Now watch, here is a text that speaks of the coming of the Lord, but it also speaks of the gathering. And notice Paul includes himself in that. He says, now, brethren concerning the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him was Paul an Israelite? Yes, he was. That question was raised in Romans chapter 11. He says, am I an Israelite? And what was his response? He said, certainly. He says, for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham and of the tribe of Benjamin. So there was Paul being gathered, but see, here's the point. Paul, along with the Southern kingdom were being gathered, but the gathering would take place with all Israel. And so at the parousia. So that means if Paul who was in the Southern kingdom was being gathered, then so were those of the Northern kingdom being gathered as well. And we have scriptures to refer to them in, for example, Romans chapter nine, beginning in verse 24, the scripture says, even us who he called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, as he said, also in Hosea, I will call them my people who were not my people and her beloved who was not beloved. And it will come to pass in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people there. They shall be called the sons of the living God. So they were being gathered together. Just as he says, Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved for. He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness because the Lord will make a short work on the earth. So here he is talking about Israel being gathered. You know, the Bible says in Hosea chapter eight and verse eight, that Israel has been swallowed up of the Gentiles, that Israel has been swallowed up of the Gentiles. And so here's what that means. If God calls the Gentiles, he's calling Israel. So if Israel is swallowed up of the Gentiles, let's take Jonah and the whale with Jonah being swallowed up by the whale. Let's say the whale did not vomit him up, that he remained in the belly of the whale and was digested. Then the only way to get Jonah is you got to bring the whole whale. And that's one way that God was because they had been swallowed up by the Gentiles, like a whale swallowing a man. And so to call back the whale, to call the Gentiles would be the calling of Israel. And we see the Gentiles were being called. But you also have first Peter chapter two, and Peter talks about it again. He's again cites Hosea and he says in verses nine and ten, but you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, who once were not a people, but are now the people of God who had not obtained mercy. But now have obtained mercy. And so here you see that same text quoted from Hosea chapter one, verses nine and ten, and also chapter two. God is talking about gathering Israel and they're being gathered at the same time that Judah was being gathered. So when the text says now brethren concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you. So here's a gathering with a view of the coming of the Lord. You cannot separate the gathering from Jesus's coming. It's impossible. This is why people are still looking for a coming of the Lord because they don't believe that the gathering has occurred. But here's the text telling us that they were already being gathered as early as 50 AD in the first century. Very, very important to understand. And if you get that right, then you will not be on a sidetrack derailed in talking about the gathering of Israel. This just destroys the idea of a future gathering of Israel. And it doesn't matter what group you may be a part of. Now, not only was there the coming of the Lord, number one, and the gathering of Israel, number two, he tells them not to be soon shaken in mind or trouble either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us as though the day of Christ had come. Now, these Thessalonians were under the impression for whatever reason that the day of the Lord had already come. Now, Paul did give them some indications that the Lord would come before all of them died. Because in first Thessalonians chapter four and verse 15, he says, This we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means perceive those who are asleep. So the Thessalonians had very good reason to believe that the Lord was going to come in their lifetime. Again, in verse 17, he says, then we who are alive and remain. So here is Paul with the Thessalonians. They were alive at the time, knowing that some of them would die, but he says, we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord. Now, where are those Thessalonians today who were present with Paul in the first century? Not a single one of them is living on the earth today. Yet Paul said, among those who were alive, and where did he get that teaching? Directly from the Lord, Matthew 16, 27 and 28. There are some standing here who will not die till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. So he tells them, don't be persuaded by some letter or word as if from us that the day of Christ had come. Do you understand what the text is saying? Do you see that what it's saying is that there were some in Thessalonica who believed that the Lord had already come? Now, let that sink in just a moment. The word already come is translated from the term inestechen, and it means to be present, something that is already set in. We do encourage you to look up the word in your Strong's Concordance or other Greek dictionary or lexicon to find out what the word means. It means to have already come, and it's used in a few passages. I don't know if I can remember all of them, but I will try to give you a few of them where the word is used so you can see how it's used in scripture. It's used to speak of things that were present as opposed to things that were off in the future. So in understanding the Thessalonians and their belief, he was talking about something that was already present as far as their belief was concerned. They believed that the coming of the Lord was already present. However, Paul is going to correct them. So listen to what the text says in Romans 8 and verse 38. It says, For I am death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present. The word present there is the same word that's used in 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 2. So what they were saying was, what Paul was warning them against was their belief that the coming of the Lord was already present. And then he says, nor things to come. So there's a contrast in Romans 8 and verse 38 with things present versus things that were to come. All right, we have this in another text in 1 Corinthians 3 and the verse is 22. He says, I'll read 21 as well. Therefore, let no one boast in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, there's our word again, or things to come. So do you see the contrast between things present or things that were about to come? He says, all are yours. So there's number two where the word is used. Now I believe that it is used again in the epistle to the Galatians in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 4, and it's translated that way. He says, speaking of Christ and his death, who gave himself for us or for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age. So he was talking about the present again. It's the same word that's used from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and father. Then another place where we find the term used is in I think it's 1st Timothy chapter 3 and the verse is 1. Let's go to 2nd Timothy chapter 3 and 1. You know, I told you I'm trying to do this from memory, and so I don't have the notes written down, but here we go. 2nd Timothy 3 and verse 1. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will be present. Now I know your translation may say will come, but it's the same word, will be present. He says in the last days perilous times will be present. Remember, he talked about the things that would occur in the last days, and he says in the last days perilous times will be present. The Thessalonians were going through perilous times. And the last time that we find the word used is in Hebrews chapter 9, and the verse is, I believe it is verse 9. He says it was symbolic for the present time. So there you have it. But ladies and gentlemen, we're out of time. We'll be back next week. I want to invite you to tune in next week for the All Things Filled broadcast.