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So, when He shall have come, in that day, to be glorified in His saints, then, in that
same coming, He will take vengeance and punish with aionion destruction those who
know not God and obey not His gospel. It is not possible to appeal to this passage as
evidence of a hope entertained by these saints before "that day" when He shall have
come.
In I Thess. 4: 15-17, the Apostle speaks of the "order" that will govern the
resurrection, and it may at first sight be felt that here is a distinct revelation--something
more than can be found in Moses and the Prophets. While it is true that the actual words
of I Thess. 4: are not found in the Law or the Prophets, they are but a legitimate
expansion of what the O.T. revealed, and if this is so, Paul's claim is not invalidated.
Take for example the passage in Dan. 12: that appears to have coloured the language
of I Thess. 4: with reference to the Archangel. Daniel speaks of two companies, one
living in the time of trouble and delivered out of it, the other sleeping in the dust of the
earth and awakened. Daniel knew that he himself would "rest", and would "stand in his
lot at the end of the days" (Dan. 12: 13), but he neither affirms nor denies the precedence
either of the living or of the dead. Paul, however, does affirm that these two companies
go "together", and we understand, therefore, that this is implicit in Daniel, though explicit
only in Paul. This does not mean, however, that Paul is saying something more than the
Law and the Prophets allowed. It was all within the framework of the O.T. and was by
no means a secret "hid" in God.
The Apostle makes very full use of the wilderness wanderings of Israel, and his
conclusion at the end of Heb. 11: to the effect that "they without us" should not be
perfected, could easily be substantiated from the story of Caleb and Joshua. These two
men qualified for entry into Canaan at the time of the spies, but they had to wait the full
period of the wilderness wandering, and finally entered the land "together" with the rest
of the people.
It is not our custom to quote the writings of others in confirmation of our teaching;
we prefer to stand or fall by the Book itself. In this case, however, some readers may
be interested to see the last words of Dr. Bullinger on the dispensational place of
I and II Thessalonians and their teaching concerning the hope of the Church. Speaking
of the fact that in all our versions the Epistles to the Thessalonians come last he says:
"It must be evident to us all at the outset that, as long as Jehovah's promise to `send
Jesus Christ' was not withdrawn, while it was still open to Israel to see the fulfillment of
`all that the prophets have spoken' on the one condition (of repentance) laid down, while
the imminence of the Lord's speedy coming was everywhere the testimony of `them that
heard Him', whether spoken or written, the waiting for God's Son from heaven, and
deliverance from the wrath to come would necessarily be the central point of all
testimony during the Dispensation of the Acts.
The Pauline Epistles be exempt from this conclusion (our italics). If any one is
disposed to hold that the promise made in Acts 3: was withdrawn at any time before
Acts 28:, it is incumbent on them to point out where such an epoch-making event is
recorded. But this cannot be done. There is not a tittle of evidence that can be produced.
Indeed, the very first epistle written by Paul (I Thess. 1: 10) emphasizes this, and the
second letter cannot even be understood apart from it."