I N D E X
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our readers, whatever may be their views concerning the
Coming of the Lord, that any interpretation of 1 Thessalonians
that ignores the inspired corrective, 2 Thessalonians, must
necessarily fail.
The Thessalonians had been led astray with regard to the
Second Coming of Christ, both by teachers speaking under the
influence of an evil spirit, and by a spurious epistle, and had
come to believe that the Day of the Lord was at hand (2 Thess.
2:2). Instead of telling these anxious believers that their hope
had nothing whatever to do with the Day of the Lord - which
would have been the simplest solution, had it been true - the
apostle occupies the bulk of this second epistle with a detailed
account of that awful day, and also reminds them, when dealing
with the great antichristian blasphemy of Revelation 13, that he
had told them these things when he was with them (2 Thess.
2:5).
In 1 Thessalonians 4 he comforts the believer by referring to
the descent of the Lord from heaven; and in 2 Thessalonians 1:7
he comforts him with the prospect of `rest' at the `revelation of
the Lord Jesus'. The descent `from heaven' and the revelation
`from heaven' are the same in the original, ap ouranon being
used in both passages. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the descent `from
heaven' is associated with the `voice of the Archangel', and, as
we shall prove presently, with the Lord's `holy angels' (1 Thess.
3:13). In 2 Thessalonians 1 this is repeated with added details:
`With His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance'.
In Daniel 12:1 we read that, when Michael the `Archangel'
stands up: `There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was