In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, God used Paul's pen to reveal the Rapture for the first time. The Rapture will
be when Christ comes to meet all the Believers from the church age in the air and takes us to heaven. This
will include those living at the time and all those who have died in the faith during the present age.
This letter was written some time after Paul's visit to Thessalonica and that visit and his ministry is recorded in Acts 16-18:5. Some of the details are this: In response to a night vision, Paul, Luke, Timothy and Silas went to Phillipi which is in Macedonia. A woman named Lidya and a girl fortune teller got saved. The men who had made a living off the girl’s fortune telling got angry and had Paul and Silas put in jail because she wouldn't tell fortunes any longer. At midnight an earthquake opened all the jail doors and the frightened jailer rushed in and asked Paul and Silas the question, “what must I do to be saved? [Acts 16:30]. Paul told him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and the result was that the jailer and all his house got saved.
The next day the Roman authorities found out Paul was a Roman citizen and turned him loose and made him and all his company leave the city.
Paul and Silas went on to Thessalonica, but they only got to stay about three weeks and about the same thing happened. During that time, many got saved and Paul, by the Holy Spirit, revealed the doctrine of the Rapture to them. The word "Rapture" isn't in the original Scriptures but other words that mean the same are used such as "caught up" and "at the coming of the Lord."
Thessalonica was a seaport on the trade route from the Orient through Greece and to Rome and eventually Europe proper, so lots of travelers and sailors stopped there. The main religion was Pagan idol worship and it was everywhere.
The native population was Greek but there were Jewish merchants and Romans as well. The city was named Thessalonica after the wife of one of Alexander the Great’s generals. Today it is called Salonika.
While Paul preached there, some of the Jews believed and many of the Gentiles, but, the unbelieving Jews caused a riot and so Paul and Silas had to leave after only being there weeks. Those who did believe established the church there and continued with good basic teaching. They faithfully followed God's teaching that was brought to them by Paul and the others, and Paul wrote this letter to encourage them.
Each chapter in 1st Thessalonians ends with a reference to the Rapture, the coming of the Lord.
1:10. " And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
2:19-20. "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 20: For ye are our glory and joy."
3:11-13. "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. 12: And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 13: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints."
4:17. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
5:23-24. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24: Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
Let's look at chapter one and keep in mind that Paul wrote it by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it is directed to those who had already accepted Christ as their Savior.
1st Thessalonians, Verses 1-2." Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2: We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;"
Paul sent these greetings. He didn't put himself above any of the others who had ministered there with him, in fact, he considered them as equals, even though he was the most well known.
This is a good lesson for today. Don’t put the preacher on a pedestal. The Believers are equal in God’s eyes. Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Man set up the priesthood and laity in Christianity, not God. God says it's wrong. God calls all believers priests.
"Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father." Grace always comes first. God’s grace leads to man’s peace, and always in that order.
Next Paul mentions prayer. Paul was a praying man. It's recorded in his writings that he prayed for many people. God, through the Holy Spirit, told him to write it down and that must have been an encouragement to those he prayed for. I wonder how our prayer lists compares with his, or are we too busy to include anybody other than close friends and family?
Verse 3. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;"
Faith, love, and hope. Three attributes of a Christian. God’s does a lot of things in threes. Creation, for instance. There's the physical universe. Time, space, matter. Each of those consist of three, time consists of past, present, and future. Space consists of height, depth, and breadth. Matter consists of solids, gas, and liquid. Then there's mankind. Mankind consists of body, soul, and spirit. Man includes man, woman, and child. Then there is God: God the Father, God the Spirit, and God the Son. The Christian life consists of faith, hope, and love.
Verse 4. "Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God."
Paul is telling these Believers that they are among the elect who were chosen in eternity past by God. The Holy Spirit gave Paul the insight that enabled him to know that these people were chosen by God. Later in the chapter we'll see that they would be examples for other Believers to follow. As Christians today, we are to be examples to others, too.
God has the right to choose who He will, If He didn't have that power He would be less than all powerful and couldn't be God. When we question God's decisions, we question His power. We are denying that He is all mighty and by that we deny that He is God.
The doctrine of election teaches that God chose certain people in Christ before the foundation of the earth. It doesn’t teach that He chose some to be damned. If men are finally lost it is because of their own sin and unbelief. The Bible also teaches human responsibility, or freedom of choice. In the garden of Eden God let man choose so man can’t say that God is unfair. God makes an actual offer of salvation to all men everywhere. John 3:16. "Whosoever believeth." John 3:17. "He came not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved."
In verse 4, Paul refers to all the Believers as "brethren, beloved." All Believers are considered brethren and are beloved by God.
Verse 5. "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake."
Paul and the others evidently preached in such an enthusiastic way because they believed what they preached. The power of the Holy Spirit was evident to the people listening and they believed. The Holy Spirit opened their eyes of understanding and they got saved. God has His own way of calling the elect to Him.
The power of the Holy Spirit used the preaching of the gospel to the Thessalonians in a wonderful way. The Thessalonians accepted it with “much assurance,” indicating the teachers' belief of what they taught helped them to accept it, too.
The apostles were so enthused with their message that it convinced the people of the truth of their message. Also the fact that the apostles lives were consistent with what they taught was further proof of the truth of their message. Our lives should do that, too.
Verse 6. "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost."
This shows how they responded to the gospel. God wants us to respond the same way. People are to see Christ in us. If we really show what Christ means to us, they'll want to be His follower, too. That's how the apostles were able to win these people to Christ. They lived what they taught and believed what they taught.
The Thessalonians "received the Word in much affliction and joy." Evidently some of the non-believers ridiculed and may even have boycotted the ones who did believe that Christ died for their sins. I'm sure the Jews as well as the idol worshipers made fun of those who worshipped a crucified peasant from Galilee.
Their joy was in the comfort of knowing their sins forgiven. The un-believers of the world can’t suffer affliction and still have joy. Only a Christian can manage that, and that is through trusting God. Human nature doesn't work this way, this comes from the Holy Spirit, and it demonstrated that these Thessalonians were God’s elect. The original example of suffering with joy was our Lord Jesus. Hebrews 12:2: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Verse 7. "So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia."
Here is where our testimony, or how we live our lives, comes under the scrutiny of others. We are to live so that others can see Christ in us. The result in Thessalonika was that the believers started a church that was called an example for others. None of the other churches in the New Testament is set out as an example for other believers.
Verse 8. "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing."
The testimony of these people was such that the people of all that large area became aware of it. The change from idol worship and it's evil practice of prostitution to the proper and moral way of the Christian life was known far and wide. That's why they were an example. They obeyed God rather than man. The Word of the Lord went out not only in Macedonia and Achia but all over the area. It wasn’t so much of what these Believers said, but what others said about them. Their lives more than their preaching resulted in others believing their testimony and getting saved, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but everywhere.
Genuine faith toward God can’t be hid from men. There are two things here that stand out. First, it is the fact that the Holy Spirit gave the preachers such a powerful message, and not the reception of that message by the Thessalonians that was so remarkable. They had to show evidence of their faith in their message to convince the Thessalonians to believe their message.
The second remarkable thing is that the Thessalonians accepted the gospel and then completely gave up idol worship.
Verse 9. "For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;"
They turned to God first and then from idols. They didn’t substitute God for idols. They accepted God first and then rejected idols. This is how the Holy Spirit works. God shows us our need of Christ for a Savior and then we turn from your previous convictions. That turning is repentance.
Now the Thessalonians could serve a living and genuine God, not some piece of wood or a clay statue. The Thessalonians believed what the apostles taught without reservation and then went on to live their lives for God, just as He wants us to do. God wants us to serve Him with living reality.
Verse 10 "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
To “wait for His Son from heaven.” They expected the Lord to return for His own at any moment. This is the Rapture. They didn’t expect to go through the tribulation. This is something I believe every true Believer looks forward to with real excitement. It isn't that we want to leave our present surroundings and loved ones. It's the anticipation of seeing Jesus and living in heaven for eternity. Their anticipation of His coming is natural. He will deliver us from the wrath to come, and this wrath may come on the world at any moment.
“The wrath” is not hell or the lake of fire. Hell isn’t going to come to sinners, sinners are going to hell. The believer is already saved from the lake of fire. "The wrath" is the Tribulation period that comes after the Believers have gone to be with the Lord in the Rapture.
God is going to pour out His wrath or punishment on the godless earth during the Tribulation time that will follow the Rapture. Believers will be spared the wrath of God. Christ endured it for us on the cross. God has promised that those who have trusted Christ as their Savior will be gone from the earth by way of the Rapture before God’s wrath falls on it.
Verse 10 again: "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
Who is coming for His saved ones? God's Son.
Where will He come from? From heaven.
What is the promise? If God raised His Own Son from the dead, He will raise the Believers from the dead.
What is the name of the One who will come for us in the Rapture? Jesus.
How will this benefit we who believe? He will deliver us from the wrath to come. Salvation and assurance.
Believe and be saved.
Live for Christ.
Look for the rapture.
Live your life
every day so that God and man
will know you are a Christian.