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intensity of tribulation irresistibly takes us back to Daniel 12, where
Michael the archangel is linked with a time of trouble 'such as never was
since there was a nation even to that same time'. Unless we can believe the
contradiction of two unprecedented times of trouble, 1 Thessalonians 4 and 2
Thessalonians 1 and 2 must be inseparable and refer to one event. This being
so, the hope of 1 and 2 Thessalonians coincides with that of Matthew 24, for
we have the same events foretold in each case:
(1)
The desolation in the holy place (Matt. 24:15 and 2 Thess. 2:4).
(2)
The great tribulation (Matt. 24:21 and 2 Thess. 1:6,7; Dan.
12:1).
(3)
The false Christs and false prophets (Matt. 24:24 and 2 Thess.
2:3-8).
(4)
The great signs and miracles (Matt. 24:24 and 2 Thess. 2:9,10).
(5)
The brightness of His coming (Matt. 24:27 and 2 Thess. 1:8; 2:8).
(6)
The Coming of the Lord after the tribulation, and the 'gathering'
of His 'elect' (Matt. 24:29 -31; 2 Thess. 2:1) (episunago).
(7)
The angels and the trumpet (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16; 3:13; 2
Thess. 1:7).
(8)
The parable of the fig tree 'When ye see ... it is near' (Matt.
24:32,33; 2 Thess. 2:1 -9).
The attempt to divorce the hope of Israel from that of the church of
the Acts fails completely. No attempt to do so would have been made if it
had been recognized that the church of the One Body came into being after
Acts 28. The church at Thessalonica held the teaching of Matthew 24 and
Daniel 12 as their own, and knew that their hope will find its setting amid
the 'blood and fire and pillars of smoke' of the Pentecostal remnant. This
leads us to the day of the Lord, the great unveiling, and the book of the
Revelation of Jesus Christ.
We conclude this survey, omitting some epistles, the book of the
Revelation, and Paul's prison epistles, by considering the testimony of the
epistle to the Romans. We shall not find in it the precision of 1
Thessalonians 4 because the hope was by that time well taught and believed.
Instead, we have references to the various accompaniments of the Lord's
Coming, these being necessary to complete the body of truth.
The seven passages in Romans
Seven passages in the epistle refer to the coming of the Lord, or to
some event that necessitates it. These passages taken together form a
complete whole:
A
2:1 -16. Jew and Gentile. Reward and punishment.
B 8:17 -25. Deliverance from bondage of the creature.
C 11:26.
The Deliverer.
Isa. 59:20 quoted.
D 13:11 -14. Salvation nearer than when we believed.
C 14:9 -12. The Judge.
Isa. 45:23 quoted.
A
15:12,13.
Jew and Gentile. The hope.
B 16:20.
Satan bruised shortly.
Jew and Gentile
The first passage is one of judgment, and the judgment yet to come:
'The day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God' (Rom.