remain". The early coming of Christ is not only a feature of this epistle, it is common to

all the epistles written during the period covered by the Acts.

There are two classes of people who disregard this truth. One is the modernist, who

plainly states that in his opinion, Paul and the early converts were quite sincere in their

belief that Christ would return in their lifetime, but they were mistaken. The other is the

more conservative believer, who, not seeing the epistle's dispensational setting, yet

confronted with the fact of its stress upon the imminence of the Lord's Return and that

this has not happened though nearly 2,000 years have passed by since it was written,

seeks to resolve the difficulty by explaining that "a thousand years is as one day"

(II Pet. 3: 8) and therefore scarcely two days have passed in the Lord's reckoning!

But this is forced and unnatural and in any case Peter reverses the statement by saying

"one day is with the Lord as a thousand years"! The epistles to the Thessalonian church

were two of the earliest of Paul's writings and had their origin in the Acts period when

the possibility of the Second Advent hung upon the repentance of Israel and their turning

back to God (Acts 3: 19-26). Believers in this church and elsewhere were instructed that

practical faith was to turn away from idols to God; practical response was to serve the

living and true God; and for a practical hope, they were to "wait for His Son from

heaven" (1: 9), being rescued from the coming wrath, so graphically and solemnly

described later in the book of Revelation.

The Apostle now begins a long section in which he defends his conduct towards them.

It was unlike Paul to give prominence to himself unless he had been deliberately

misrepresented and the truth made known through him brought into danger. It is obvious

that this was the case, otherwise he would not have denied the charges of deceit,

uncleanness, and guile (2: 3) or of flattering words and covetousness (verse 5), or of

seeking glory for himself (verse 6) if these insinuations had not been made.

The tactics of the enemy are ever the same: smear the messenger and seek to ruin the

message. It is splendid to realize that Paul did not hit back and render evil for evil.

Rather he reminds them of his gentleness among them as a nurse carefully looking after

her children. He had been willing not only to make known the gospel to them but to give

himself to the limit for their sakes (verse 8). He had worked night and day so that he

would not be chargeable and a burden to them (verse 9). He had behaved like a loving

and wise father exhorting and consoling them (11), and from this context we have

brought before us the ideal leader who combines the tenderness of a mother with the

strength of a father. One without the other may lead to undue hardness or softness of

character. Would that we all could emulate the Apostle in his balanced witness in these

The epistle continues with Paul's commendation of the way the Thessalonian

believers had received his message. He makes a tremendous statement by saying that

they received it not as something human, just the word of a man, but, as it is in truth, the

Word of God. They must have been persuaded that Paul was not giving them his

opinions. There could not have been any in this assembly who regarded the message as