In this study we will learn about the second coming of our Lord Jesus as revealed to us in 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10. Through this study our understanding of His second coming and our gathering together to be with him should be made clear.
2 Th 1:4-10
4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.(KJV)
The believers in Thessalonica endured persecution with patience and faithfulness. Paul exhorted the believers by informing them that God was allowing their suffering to sanctify them, making them ready for the kingdom. For we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. If we suffer with Christ, we shall also be glorified together with him. Yes, that’s right. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him!
Acts 14:22
22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.(KJV)
Rom 8:17
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.(KJV)
2 Tim 2:12
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:(KJV)
So you may be asking yourself, "what is the manifest token of the righteous judgment of God?" Simply put it is:
- the destruction of the wicked;
- the deliverance of the believers.
Phil 1:28-29
28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;(KJV)
It is an exceding joy for us to suffer according to the will of God. We are to be happy and not consider it a strange thing, for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. For the time is come that God shall discipline and judge his people in order to refine them. This judgment purifies and strengthens us, preparing us for the kingdom of God! Again this is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God.
1 Pet 4:12-19
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.(KJV)
Moving on, let’s look back to our main text:
2 Th 1:7-10
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.(KJV)
Paul told the believers that were afflicted that they would find rest (relaxation of the cords of affliction), when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that follow not after God. This is when he shall come to be glorified in his saints.
Did you notice that? When will we find rest from our affliction? When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that follow not after God. We will not have rest until:
- Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels;
- Jesus is revealed in a flaming fire with everlasting destuction.
The day of destruction for the wicked will be a day of celebration for believers. Jesus will return with his mighty angels in a flaming fire; then he will be glorified in his saints.
Here mighty angels and saints do not refer to the same group. Take notice that Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. Also note that we receive our rest and the wicked their destruction, when Jesus shall come (with his mighty angels) to be glorified in his saints and admired by them.
Matthew 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.(KJV)
Matt 16:27
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.(KJV)
Mark 8:38
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.(KJV)
In studying our main text (2 Th 1:4-10), it is obvious that God will give us rest when our Lord Jesus appears suddenly from heaven in flaming fire with his mighty angels, bringing judgment on all who do not wish to know God and who refuse to accept his plan to save them through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now they will be punished in everlasting hell, forever separated from the Lord, never to see the glory of his power. But we shall receive our rest (the rapture) when our Lord Jesus appears from heaven in flaming fire with his mighty angels.
Here the time line of the rapture is made clear. For since "Immediately after the tribulation of those days" (Mt 24:29), Jesus will come "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Mt 24:30), sending his angels to gather his elect (Mt 24:31). We know that it is after the tribulation "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire" (2 Th 1:7,8), "to be glorified in his saints" (2 Th 1:10). There is no secret rapture for the saints. There shall also be persecutions and tribulations. So don’t be deceived, my beloved (Mt. 24:4).
Be sure to read the article on 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 which is a continuation of the discussion in chapter 1.
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