Dr. Manny Arango (0:01)

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango, and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. All right, fam. Welcome to our second day in Thessalonians. Today we're covering Thessalonians chapter four and five. I say this every day. Sometimes it feels like a broken record, but if you haven't done the reading yet for today, just go ahead. Stop. Stop listening right now. Stop the video. Go do the reading. It'll take you a couple of minutes and then come back so that you actually have some perspective. Obviously, the context is the same as yesterday because of intense persecution based on Paul's ministry. And even to add a little bit more context than I was able to add yesterday, what typically happens, and definitely what happened in Thessalonica is that Paul and Silas and the gang, they spend three Sabbaths, which means three Saturdays, in the synagogue arguing with. With the Jews, like trying to win their fellow Jewish brethren. And the Bible, the. The word. Actually, let's go to Acts, chapter 17, verse 4 and 5. What ends up happening in terms of persecution is that the Jews are gonna then go get Gentiles to persecute the believers. Okay, so Acts chapter 17, verse 4. Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks. So these are probably God fearers and not a few of the leading women. Okay, but the Jews became jealous. And with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason's house. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also. And Jason has entertained them as guests. They're all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor. Okay, Remember, the emperor worship is huge in Thessal Thessalonica, saying that there is another king named Jesus. The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this. And after they had taken BAAL from Jason and the others, they let them go. That very night, the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea, and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Okay, so Paul and Silas, there's. There's a theme Here that Jews who are jealous or Jews who are upset with Paul, Paul's preaching then go and find Gentiles to be upset with them as well. So the persecution isn't only coming from the Jews in the synagogue. The Jews are stirring up persecution that's then going to come from the Gentiles. One of the things that Luke is doing in the book of Acts is trying to draw parallels between Jesus's persecution and our persecution. And so what happens in the Gospels is that the Jews have an issue with Jesus and then they go get Pontius Pilate, they go. They go get the Roman authorities to persecute Jesus. And so the persecution is two pronged. It's initiated by the Jews, but then it's really. It's almost like the Jews become the fire and then the Gentiles become the gas. And the Jews then prompt the Gentiles to really have an issue, A with Jesus and then second with Christians. Okay, Massive persecution. Paul and Silas leave. Okay. Jason is got, you know, is paying bail. Like they've dragged believers off. Like, this is a ridiculous scene. Like, this is scary. Okay? And Paul goes to Berea. Then Athens sends Timothy back to check on these Christians in Thessalonica. He's only been there a month. And so that's the context we get into chapter four, and Paul's like, hey, let's talk about sanctification. Okay? I love this passage because it says, hey, here's the will of the Lord that you be sanctified. This is what it says in Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 3. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. If anybody is wondering what the will of God is, it's your sanctification. So there are some words that we need to kind of define. Salvation happens in a moment, instantly. That's called justification. That God looks at you just as if I'd justified, just as if I'd never sinned. It's justification. Sanctification, though, is a lifelong process. And what is Paul's focus when it comes sanctification? He says it right here that you abstain from sexual immorality. So let me give you a context. Clue. The Greco Roman world was insanely licentious when it came to sex and sexuality. Okay, so it's not like Paul is just obsessed with telling people to be sexually pure. No. Sexual immorality was rampant in the Greco Roman world. And sexual purity would have been insanely countercultural. He says, this here's the will of God that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. So Paul spends a good chunk of time just admonishing them to live lives of sexual purity. Number two, second big thing that we're going to see in these two chapters is the rapture. Honestly, the Thessalonians may be grieving the death of people that have been martyred for the gospel right there in Thessalonica. It says this in chapter four, verse 13. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do, who have no hope. So they are probably grieving the fact that there are some new Christians in Thessalonica that have died because this persecution that has broken out. Here's a nerdy nugget, okay? Because the Rapture is going to get talked about. Now, the word rapture is actually a Latin word. It's not going to be in any of our English translations, but the idea of the Rapture is there. Now let me kind of add some theology and a nerdy nugget. Now, there are a lot of denominations and Christian traditions that believe that the Rapture and the second coming of Jesus are two separate events, okay? That the church is going to get raptured away. That then there's gonna be a tribulation time, a time of tribulation on the earth. That because the removal of the church, that it's a removal of salt and light. And so the world's gonna get worse and worse and worse because of the rapturing away of the church. That that time of being raptured is also a time where God can really win back the heart of the Jewish people. And so the Rapture is a time where Jesus is in the sky, but just to take away the church. And then later there's a second coming. Then there's a lot of Christians who believe that the Rapture and the second coming are the same event, okay? That the church gets raptured away and then gets in line behind Jesus and follows Jesus down to the earth for the second coming. I'm going to give you a nerdy nugget. I'm going to let you decide for yourself, like which one of those you believe. Then they're both fair interpretations. Here's a nerdy nugget based on this passage. Here's what it says in verse 16 of chapter 4. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the Sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. So remember, they're also concerned because they're like, wait, wait, if people have died, what's going to happen to them? Like they were believing that the Rapture or the second coming of Christ was something that was going to happen in their lifetime. And so they want to know, like, okay, is there an advantage to being alive when the Rapture happens? Paul says, actually no. The dead in Christ are going to rise first. So those who are dead, the graves will open and there's going to be a resurrection of those who have fallen asleep. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together. So that's the, that, that Hebrew, sorry, that Greek word caught up there gets translated as rapture. Caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so that we will always be with the Lord. Okay? Therefore, encourage one another with these words. So don't use this to make each other scared. Encourage each other. Now I want to tell you about what happened when Caesar would arrive to Rome after victorious, you know, battle or defeat of, of Rome's enemies. Upon Caesar's arrival, a delegation of citizens would go outside of the city to meet Caesar and follow him into the city as a part of his triumphal procession. Okay? So the way that you greeted a victorious emperor was you leave the city, go outside of the city gates, meet your victorious king, fall behind them and follow them in victory, even though you did nothing to attain that victory, you get to be a part of the triumphal procession of welcoming your victorious king back into the city. Okay? And so there's a lot of people who believe that Paul is actually making, using this language. So this our nerdy nugget for the day. What Paul is essentially saying is that Jesus is going to be in the sky. We're going to get caught up to meet him. And if he's playing on the same word, picture that that is used of Caesar's arrival when he's victorious and then followed into the city, then what will happen then is that Christians will get caught up. We will be raptured to meet Jesus in the sky, but then we'll fall behind. We'll get in line behind Jesus and follow him right down here to this earth, so that the Rapture in the second Coming are actually the same event. Now, different denominations believe different things, different Christian traditions believe different things. It's totally up to you. Like, I want you to wrestle with it for you to Decide, maybe talk to your pastor. Talk to leaders at your church. About what? What's your pastor stance? What's your church's stance? Will the Rapture and the Second coming be two separate things? Will the Rapture, the Second Coming be the same thing? I've given you another nugget and you can think about that. Dwell on that.