FOR THIS WE SAY TO YOU
BY THE WORD OF THE LORD
THAT WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN UNTIL THE COMING OF THE LORD: Touto gar
humin legomen (PAI): Touto gar humin legomen (1PPAI) en logo kuriou,
hoti hemeis oi zontes (PAPMPN) oi perileipomenoi (PPPMPN) eis ten
parousian tou kuriou: (1 Kings
13:1,9,17,18,22;
20:35;
22:14)
(1 Corinthians
15:51-53;
2 Corinthians 4:14)
This I say to you by the Word of
the Lord - With the phrase "by (literally in) the Word of the Lord" Paul
introduces not only a new subject but also new revelation he had
received from the Lord. This is not Paul's idea but comes from and
with the authority of the Lord Who gives us one of the most detailed
accounts of His return for His Bride, the Church. The Lord is the
Source of this truth. The Word of the Lord is a Word of promise.
Believe it and be blessed.
The pronoun this introduces
all that follows the word that in this verse.
To you - A special message
to his readers from their Lord. Moffatt thus renders it...
For we tell you, as the Lord has
told us.
Stedman adds that...
I take those words to mean that
this is something he had not taught them when he was in Thessalonica.
He had taught them about Jesus' death and resurrection and how that
would affect them, but he did not give them details of time and
circumstance of his coming again. Now the apostle is revealing further
truth.
We who
are alive - Clearly indicates Paul was living in the light of the
imminent return of His Lord. How do we reach this conclusion? The use
of the plural pronoun we indicates that Paul himself expected
to be alive at the
parousia. It supports the teaching that the
apostle Paul believed that the Rapture was imminent (the
condition of being about to occur) and implies that no preceding signs
or events had to occur prior to the Bridegroom's return for His
Bride, the Church.
James alluded to the
imminency of the Lord's return writing...
Do not complain, brethren, against
one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge
is standing right at the door. (James 5:9) (Comment: Many
Scripture passages depict the return of Christ as an imminent event -
Mt 24:42-48; Mark 13:33-37; Luke 12:35-40;
Romans 13:12 (note); 1Cor 7:29;
Philippians 3:20 [note];
3:21 [note];
Philippians 4:5 [note];
1Thessalonians 1:10 [note];
Titus 2:13 [note];
Hebrews 9:28 [note];
1 Peter 4:7 [note]; 1Jn 2:18; Jude
1:21;
Revelation 3:11 [note];
Revelation 22:7 [note],
22:10 [note],
22:20 [note])
A practical application of the
doctrine of imminency (click
here for more detail)
is that one cannot know the day or hour of our Lord's return
and therefore one must strive to always be ready to meet Him in the
air. It is interesting that even those who do not accept this
doctrine, acknowledge it as one held by many Christians over the past
two millennia. For example the amillennialist Adam Clarke (see
critique) in his notes
on Revelation 20:2 writes...
It has long been the idle
expectation of many persons that the millennium, in their sense, was
at hand; and its commencement has been expected in every century since
the Christian era...(Clarke then goes on to add in a declaration that
speaks for itself)... Yet there is no doubt that the earth is in
a state of progressive moral improvement; and that the light of true
religion is shining more copiously everywhere, and will shine more and
more to the perfect day. (Ref)
Hiebert defends the premise
that Paul believed in the imminent return of Christ beginning with his
rebuttal of Calvin's attempt to explain away this idea...
Calvin ingeniously explains that
although Paul knew by "a special revelation that Christ would come
at a somewhat later date," he yet here speaks as though he would
be among the living "to arouse the Thessalonians to wait for it,
and to keep all the godly in suspense." But Paul's indication that
he was looking for the Lords return was no pious pretense perpetrated
for the good of the church. He sincerely lived and labored in the
anticipation of the day, but he did not know when it would come.
The time of the return remains
unrevealed (cf. Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7).
"The last day is hidden, that every
day may be regarded" (Augustine).
It cannot be demonstrated from his
letters that later on Paul gave up this hope and expected death
instead. As he grew older he well realized that the chances of his
survival were diminishing, but that did not eliminate the hope.
In 2 Corinthians, written some five years later, Paul deals with his
personal attitude to the alternatives of death and the coming of the
Lord (2 Cor. 5:1-10). In it he again uses "we." In 2 Cor 5:2-4 he
expresses his yearning for that which cannot take place until the
Lord's return; in 2 Cor 5:6 he asserts that he is of good courage in
the face of death, and in 2 Cor 5:8 he reasserts that he "would prefer
to be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
Clearly he still yearns for the parousia, which is certain to come,
but is unafraid of death, which may come first.
In the epistle to the Philippians, written perhaps some five years
later still, he describes his own attitude toward death in language
akin to that in 2 Corinthians and indicates that death for him is no
remote possibility (see notes
Philippians 1:21;
22;
23;
24). Yet in 1Thes
3:20 he uses "we," and "our" in
1Thessalonians 3:13,
to describe the characteristic attitude of believers toward the coming
of Christ.
Even in the pastoral epistles, written last of all, Paul uses "we"
in connection with the hope of the second advent. In Titus 2:11-13
(see notes
Titus 2:11;
2:12;
2:13) Paul
speaks of the grace of God instructing us to live godly lives "while
we wait for the blessed hope."
Even in 2 Timothy, where he uses language that can only mean that he
was anticipating a speedy execution, he still speaks of the reward
awaiting those who love His appearing (see note
2 Timothy 4:8).
Clearly Paul shared that attitude of expectancy that should
characterize each generation of believers. He did not know that he
would be alive until the parousia, neither could he affirm that he
would not be. (Hiebert,
D. Edmond: 1 & 2 Thessalonians: BMH Book. 1996)
And so we see that a number of
Scriptures (there is some duplication of the following references with
the references in the previous note) support the fact that Paul had a
fervent hope and expectation that he might be among those who were
alive at the
Parousia of His Lord...
For example, in Romans 13
Paul wrote
Do this, knowing the time, that it
is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation
("future tense salvation" - glorification - see
Three Tenses of Salvation)
is nearer to us than when we believed. The night [of man’s sin and
Satan’s rule] is almost gone, and the day [of Christ’s return] is
near. (See notes
Romans 13:11;
13:12)
In his first letter to the
Corinthians Paul includes himself among those who might still be
alive at the Rapture writing
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we
will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed (1 Cor. 15:51-52).
As Paul concluded First
Corinthians he wrote
If anyone does not love the Lord,
he is to be accursed. Maranatha” (1 Cor. 16:22)
Maranatha is Aramaic (maran_atha)
meaning “Oh Lord, come!” ("Our Lord come", "Come, O Lord") and
expresses Paul’s hope that the Lord would return soon.
The apostle wrote to Titus
that he was
looking for (prosdechomai
in the
present tense
= means as the habit
of one's life, continually waiting even with a sense of expectancy)
the blessed hope and the appearing (cf, the
parousia) of the glory of our great
God and Savior , Christ Jesus (see note
Titus 2:13)
Dear believer in Christ, does you
day to day conduct indicate that you are living as if you might see
your Bridegroom today? Do your choices reflect an upward look or are
you "tethered" to this present world which is passing away?
Beloved, don't waste your life. (see Piper's msg -
Don't Waste Your Life
even better in the
Mp3 Audio)
What you are looking for will determine what you are living for. Look
for Christ and live accordingly. Let our Lord's words motivate you to
strive to maintain a future focus...
Behold, I am coming quickly and My
reward is with Me to render to every man according to what he has
done. (see note
Revelation 22:12)
Alive (2198)
(zao) is refers to those who are still physically living on earth when the Lord returns.
Remain (4035
) (perileipo from perí = intensifies
meaning of the verb + leípo = to leave, lack)
means to leave over, to leave all around, (pass.) survive.
In Classic Greek the
passive voice referred to those who survived and
therefore remained or were left behind, the title of a famous
novel series! Unlike the book and movie "Left Behind" (which describes
unbelievers who "miss" the Rapture), here Paul uses the idea of left
behind to describe the ones who will "remain over," or "survive" unto
the parousia (cf. note
1Thessalonians 2:19).
This is the generation of Christians who will be alive at that time
and who will never experience physical death.
The coming (3952)
(parousia)
is a combination of two Greek
words para = with, alongside + ousia = being (ousia
is the participial form of the verb eimi = to be) which
together literally mean to be alongside.
Most lexicons
state that parousia is derived from pareimi (from
para = near, with + eimi = to be) which means to be
present, to be nearby, to have come.
Parousia
literally means a being beside or a presence. The word
denotes both an arrival and a consequent presence with.
Parousia
conveys the thought of an arrival (advent or coming) of a person to a
place plus the idea of their presence at that place until a certain
event transpires. The word parousia has no English equivalent
and therefore is often transliterated in writings.
John
MacArthur writes that...
Parousia refers to more than
just coming; it includes the idea of “presence.” Perhaps the
best English translation would be “arrival.” The church’s
great hope is the arrival of Jesus Christ when He comes to bless His
people with His presence. That glorious truth appears in more than 500
verses throughout the Bible.
(Macarthur
J. James. Moody or
Logos)
(Bolding added)
Parousia is used
24 times in the NT (and none in the non-apocryphal
Septuagint)
(see verses below or click
Mt
4x;
1Co
2x;
2Co
3x;
Phil
2x;
1 Th
4x;
2Th
3x;
Js
2x;
2Pe
3x;
1Jn)
and is translated coming 22 times and presence twice.
In an ancient
Greek letter a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia in
a place in order to attend to matters relating to her property there.
Moulton and Milligan have these secular quotes...
the repair of what has been swept
away by the river requires my presence
“we await your presence,” (a
man to his “brothers)
it is no use if a person comes too
late for what required his presence
In another
secular Greek writing we find parousia used to refer to the
coming of a king or other noted official (see note below). In the
visit of the ruler was accompanied by magnificent ceremonies,
delicacies to eat, gifts of money, street improvements, new buildings,
addressing of complaints and requests! Sounds like the coming of the
King to take His throne in the 1000 year
Millennial
or Messianic Kingdom!
Moulton and
Milligan add that...
What, however, more especially
concerns us in connexion with the NT usage of parousia is the
quasi-technical force of the word from Ptolemaic times onwards to
denote the “visit” of a King, Emperor, or other person in authority,
the official character of the “visit” being further emphasized by the
taxes or payments that were exacted to make preparations for it. Thus
in P Petr II. 39(e)18 (iii/b.c.) mention is made of contributions
for a “crown” (stephanou) to be presented to the King on his “arrival”
(parousias), and in a letter of b.c. 264 or 227, P Grenf II. 14(b)2,
a certain Appenneus writes that he has prepared “for the visit of
Chrysippus” (the dioecetes) by laying in a number of birds for his
consumption. Other examples from the papyri are P Par 26i. 18 (b.c.
163–2) (= Selections, p. 15), where the Serapeum Twins lay their
grievances before King Ptolemy Philometor and Queen Cleopatra on the
occasion of their royal visits to Memphi... “the 80 artabae of wheat
for the supplies imposed in connexion with the King’s visit” (Edd.).
