In 1Thessalonians 2:7-9 Paul described his ministry to the believers at Thessalonica by using the example of a mother nursing her children. He expressed his affection toward them by risking his own life in order to feed their souls with the Gospel, providing for his own needs by day and theirs by night. Moreover, Paul then recalled to their memory how he treated them as a father does his children (1Thessalonians 2:11). He called them to his side to be instructed (parakaleo – G3870). Then he encouraged them (paramutheomai – G3888) to affirm publically what they had been taught and knew to be true (martureo – 3140). In other words, Paul called them to deport themselves as representatives of God, who had called them into his Kingdom and glory (1Thessalonians 2:12).
After recalling to the Thessalonians how he behaved and spoke to them, Paul then told them how grateful he was to God for their own behavior, which they modeled after his (1Thessalonians 2:13). Thus, they proved how powerful the word of God is among those who receive it (1Thessalonians 2:1). So, what Paul is saying is: “Hey, you know exactly how I both behaved and spoke among you. I am innocent of the charges made against me by my enemies who disputed with me there. This is clearly understood in the manner in which you, yourselves, are behaving and speaking, proving yourselves to be the fruits of my labor. For, just as you heard the Gospel from me, so now the same Gospel is sounded out to all Macedonia by you, so that even traveling strangers are so astonished at what you are doing, they speak about it wherever they go (1Thessalonians 1:5-10).
Paul also mentioned that the churches in Thessalonica became followers of the churches in Judea, in that, not only did they hear the word through a great deal of adversity (1Thessalonians 1:6; cp. Acts 17:5-9), but they also preached the Gospel through much adversity, knowing that persecution would always follow preaching the word of God (1Thessalonians 2:14; cp. 3:1-5).
In order to place the afflictions of the believing Thessalonians in perspective, Paul pointed to their Jewish brethren in Judea and how they suffered at the hands of their brethren according to the flesh (1Thessalonians 2:14-15). The Jews are guilty not only of crucifying Jesus, but also of killing every prophet God had ever sent to them, and now they were guilty of persecuting and / or killing each and every prophet, Apostle, or evangelist among them during the first century AD. Although they thought they were pleasing God, they were not, and they opposed all men to the point that they even forbad believers to preach the Gospel to gentiles, in order that they would be saved (1Thessalonians 2:16; cp. Esther 3:8; Luke 11:52-53).
Therefore, instead of pleasing God, they were bringing their own sins to their ultimate fulfillment (1Thessalonians 2:16). This is exactly what Jesus, himself, concluded about them, when he said they were just like their fathers were before them. They killed the prophets, and those to whom Jesus spoke, would not only slay him, but they would persecute and slay everyone he would send to them in an effort to get them to repent, and this would result in their ultimate destruction (Matthew 23:29-36). In other words, the wrath of God had come upon those who opposed the Gospel during the first century AD (1Thessalonians 2:16), and it is the responsibility of every believer to simply wait for the Lord to come and save them out of their troubles (cp. 1Thessalonians 1:10; cp. 2:19).
Finally, Paul turned his attention to his own feelings toward the believers in Thessalonica, saying that although he had been thrust from their presence, he had always been with them in his spirit (1Thessalonians 2:17). He had such a great desire to see them again, and he would have been able to do so twice, but the enemy hindered him. That is, the enemy, the Jewish leadership in Thessalonica, who had been responsible for his expulsion from the city by the current magistrate (Acts 17:6-9). Only after the term of the magistrate’s office, could Paul legally return to see them. The Greek word satanas (G4567), meaning adversary or enemy, doesn’t have to refer to a spiritual entity. Under the Old Covenant, David’s friends had become his “satans” in 2Samuel 19:22, because they wanted to slay a man who had cursed the king. Moreover, the Lord had sent a “satan” to disturb Solomon’s peace (1Kings 11:14), and even the Angel of the Lord acted as Balaam’s “satan” in Numbers 22:22. Therefore, I believe Paul was referring to the Jewish authorities as his enemy, not a spiritual entity.
So, rather than disturb the status quo (i.e. the persecution that was unjustly made against him) by fighting his enemies before the local magistrates, Paul simply awaited the coming of the Lord,[1] because it is the believers at Thessalonica, not his good name, that was his hope, joy and crown of rejoicing. They, not his reputation in this world, was his glory and reason for rejoicing (1Thessalonians 2:19-20).
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[1] The title of this particular study: Preaching, Persecution, Power, Parousia points to events, which follow the preaching of the Gospel (especially as that pertains to the first century AD). First the word is preached to listeners, then the preachers are persecuted, but instead of giving up they embrace the power of the Lord not only to endure but to face the opposition in power, which their enemies won’t be able to resist. Thus, letting the Lord witness to the world through them what the Gospel is all about. Finally, they are vindicated through the coming (i.e. parousia) of the Lord in judgment of their enemies. This occurred in 70 AD, when Jesus returned and judged the Jews for persecuting his people. This idea, Preaching, Persecution, Power, Parousia originally comes from Don K Preston, a preacher in Ardmore, Oklahoma, who introduced me to Covenant Eschatology, i.e. Preterism, which teaches that all prophecy has been fulfilled. There is nothing in Old Testament prophecy that remains unfulfilled.
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