` There shall be a Root of Jesse, and He that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles trust

(hope). Now the God of (that) hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through

the power of the Holy Ghost' (Rom. 15:12,13).

Here we are on firm ground. Paul himself teaches the church in the Acts to look for the millennial kingdom and

for the Saviour as the `Root of Jesse' Who shall `reign over the Gentiles'. How can this hope be severed from `the

hope of Israel'? How can it be associated with the `Mystery' which knows nothing of Abraham, or Israel, but goes

back before the `foundation of the world', and reaches up to heavenly places? In case the reader should be uncertain

of Paul's reference to the millennial kingdom, we quote from Isaiah 11 :

` And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse ... He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth,

and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked ... The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb ... And in that

day there shall be a Root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the People; to It shall the Gentiles seek: and

His rest shall be glorious' (Isa. 11:1,4,6,10).

The reader should consult the note on Isaiah 11:4, given in The Companion Bible, where the reading, `He shall

smite the oppressor' (ariz) is preferred to the Authorized Version `He shall smite the earth' (erez). This reading

establishes a link with 2 Thessalonians 2:8 :

` And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall

destroy with the brightness of His coming'.

Before referring to 1 Thessalonians 4, which presents the hope of the Pentecostal Church at this time very

clearly, we must say something about the strange avoidance of the second epistle that so many manifest when

dealing with this subject.

If a business man were to treat his correspondence in the way that some believers treat the epistles of Paul, the

results would be disastrous. A second letter, purporting to rectify a misunderstanding arising out of a previous letter,

would, if anything, be more important and more decisive than the first; yet there are those whose system of

interpretation demands that they shall claim 1 Thessalonians 4 as the revelation of their hope, who nevertheless

either neglect the testimony of 2 Thessalonians or explain it away as of some future mystical company unknown to

the apostle. Let us first verify that these two epistles form a definite pair, written by the same writer, at the same

period, to the same people, about the same subject.

Identity of Address.

FIRST EPISTLE -- `Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the

Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thess. 1:1).

SECOND EPISTLE -- `Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ' (2 Thess. 1:1).

Identity of Theme.

FIRST EPISTLE -- `Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in

our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father' (1 Thess. 1:3).

SECOND EPISTLE -- `We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith

groweth exceedingly, and the charity (love) of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; so that we

... glory ... for (in) your patience' (2 Thess. 1:3,4).

FIRST EPISTLE -- `The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints' (1 Thess. 3:13). (A reference to Deut.

SECOND EPISTLE -- `The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire'

(2 Thess. 1:7,8).