Presently, we are involved in a study of the eschatology of Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians, specifically 1Thessalonians 4:13-18. This passage is speaking of the coming of the Lord. We’ve been considering all the rest of Paul’s letter leading up to this passage, and we’ve also looked at what we call Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. We’ve done this in an effort to understand the context of Paul’s eschatology. Thus far, we’ve discovered that Paul has one united understanding of Jesus second coming. There aren’t two comings, i.e. one in the first century to judge the Jews in 70 AD and one in our future 2000 years later and counting. No! There is only one coming of the Lord, and all of the time constituents point to his coming in the first century AD. Paul was writing to people he knew and both he and they expected Jesus to return to the generation in which they lived.
Jesus was very emphatic about the timeframe of his return, and he said on a number of occasions that he would return in the first century AD. He tells us in his Olivet Discourse: “Truly, I say unto you: ‘This generation shall not pass until all of these thing are fulfilled’” (Matthew 24:34). Earlier that day, while confronting the Pharisees in the Temple Jesus said:
“Therefore, behold, I send prophets and wise men and scribes to you. And you will kill and crucify some of them. And some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city; so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Berachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, All these things shall come on this generation” (Matthew 23:34-36; emphasis mine).
About a year and a half before he was crucified Jesus was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, and he declared before a multitude of folks (Mark 8:34): “Truly I say to you that there are some of those who stand here who shall not taste of death, until they see the kingdom of God come with power” (Mark 9:1). Matthew records: “…until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:28).
The coming of the Son of Man (i.e. the Messiah) was to occur in the first century AD, according to Jesus, and at that time a gathering of all of the faithful would occur, both living and dead. In other words, it would be at the time of the resurrection (Matthew 16:27; 24:31). Paul spoke of this in 2Thessalonians 2:1 and in 1Thessalonians 4:13-17. Now, this gathering, as I demonstrated in other studies, has absolutely nothing to do with a physical ‘gathering’ that one could see. An immeasurable number of people would be gathered before the Lord. This is a covenantal gathering in the same sense that the whole nation of Israel was gathered before the Lord in the plains below Mount Sinai, which was an event that initiated the Old Covenant. Nevertheless, Jesus lamented over the fact that the nation wouldn’t accept the covenant, and he said:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to her, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is left to you desolate (Matthew 23:37-38).
Jesus wasn’t focusing on a literal, physical ‘gathering.’ Rather, it had to do with a covenantal gathering. Notice, that since they refused, he would leave their house (i.e. their Temple) desolate! This means, he would end their covenant with him. When did that occur? It occurred with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, and this is when the gathering of the elect took place—the dead elect and the living elect. Paul says twice: we who are alive (1Thessalonians 4:15, 17), and both mentions refer to the gathering of the elect to the Lord at his coming. We who are alive (i.e. the generation of believers in the 1st century AD) would not precede the dead ones (1Thessalonians 4:15), and the dead ones (1Thessalonians 4:13-14, 16) would not be gathered to Jesus in a covenantal relationship before we who are alive (Hebrews 11:40). The covenant was initiated at Pentecost cir. 31 AD, and it was established in 70 AD with the destruction of the Temple, which ended the Old Covenant.
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