According to some folks Paul must have been a person whose theology was extremely difficult to follow. Why the Lord chose him to be the disciple of the gentiles is anybody’s guess, if what these folks say about him is true. Some will conclude that 1Thessalonians 4 is speaking of the end of time, but the context of the Lord’s coming in 1Thessalonians 2:19 is 70 AD (cp. 1Thessalonians 2:14-16). Moreover, some folks will say that 2Thessalonians 2 is also speaking of the end of time and human history, but at the same time 2Thessalonians 1:3-10 is speaking about the first century AD and the Lord’s coming to judge Jerusalem for persecuting the saints and rewarding the saints for their steadfastness in the faith during their time of trouble. Thus far in my studies of Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians, every mention of the Lord’s coming points to the first century AD. Paul’s eschatology is not ambiguous, but he is very clear, using the same words to describe everything pertaining to the return of Christ.
Paul writes:
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (2 Thessalonians 2:1)
Let consider for this study the phrase “our gathering together” to Christ, as recorded in this verse. The Greek word is episunagoge (G1997), meaning a gathering together in one place. It is used only here and in Hebrews 10:25, where it is nearly always misunderstood to mean coming together for church services on Sunday. This is the noun form of the Greek, the verb form is episunago (G1996) and is found only seven times in six verses of the New Covenant text.[1] Jesus uses the word saying:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered (G1996) your children together, even as a hen gathers (G1996) her chicks under her wings, and you would not! (Matthew 23:37; emphasis mine)
Consider what Jesus is saying. Is he speaking about an actual, literal gathering? Can you visualize all of Israel gathered together in one place? What would that look like, and for what purpose would they have physically gathered together? How would the Apostles, who were present with Jesus at the time, have understood Jesus’ meaning? He was not speaking of a physical gathering at all, but a covenantal gathering. Jesus wanted to gather Israel together under the Old Covenant, but they refused. Therefore, believers were told to look for another gathering (2Thessalonians 2:1; Hebrews 10:25).
In this particular gathering all believers, both living and dead were to gather together (2Thessalonians 2:1; cp. 1Thessalonians 4:13-17). However, where would this gathering be? Where is the believers’ gathering place? It is in Christ! Christ in the New Covenant is put for the Promised Land in the Old Covenant. Israel refused to enter their rest, i.e. the Promised Land (Hebrews 4:2), so there remained a rest or gathering place to which the faithful would labor to gather together (Hebrews 4:7-11). This is the context of all mentions in the New Covenant text of the coming of the Lord and the saints’ gathering together to him. It occurred in 70 AD, when Jesus returned at the time of the resurrection of the dead to reward the saints, and to punish the unbelieving Jews by ending the Old Covenant (cp. Matthew 16:27-28).
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[1] Matthew 23:37; 24:31; Mark 1:33; 13:27; Luke 12:1; 13:34.
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