 |
| To Part 2 |
As we see a one-world government mentality germinating and growing and a spirit of lawlessness
becoming increasingly prevalent today, we know from Scripture that there are
two events preceding Christ’s Second Coming: the rapture of the Church and the seven
years of tribulation. Between the linear space of time of any moment and the inception of the tribulation period is the Rapture of the Bride of Christ.
As time
advances, the tribulation period continually draws nigh, and the space between
now and the rapture is compressed as well. Think of the present tense as one
end of a vise and the tribulation period as the other end. As time continually
turns the handle of the vise, the space between now and the tribulation period
draws closer together. Invariably, the Rapture must reach the now end before
the tribulation period, and it will happen without warning because we do not
know the compression distance between the now and the Rapture, other than it
could be at any moment.
Again, bear in
mind there are no signatures for the Rapture to take place. It will be so
sudden that the transformation of the saints will happen in the twinkling of an eye, going from
mortal to immortality (1 Cor 15:51-54)! We who have the Holy Spirit living
within our hearts are out of here for the next seven years of earth time; then we
will return with Him to earth for the millennial rule! All our “stuff” left
behind became fair game seven years ago. “To the loser belongs the spoils,” in
this case! Also left behind will be all of those who did not know Jesus as
their personal Savior and Lord.
In 1 Thes 1:10,
Paul uses indirectly the phrase to wait continuously
(present tense) for the imminent (at any moment) return of God’s Son from
heaven (cf. Php 3:20). If you hadn’t noticed in Paul’s first letter to the
believers of Thessalonica, there is a reference to the coming of Christ at the
end of each chapter.
These eschatological
expressions in First Thessalonians are not referring to Christ’s Second Advent
but to the imminent return of Jesus Christ, popularly referred to as the
Rapture of the Church. There is one exception found in 1 Thes 5:2, concerning
the phrase, the day of the
Lord. This is not referring to the Rapture event but
involves divine judgment poured out onto the earth (cf. Act 2:20; 2 Thes 2:2; 2 Pet 3:10).
It is good for
us to always keep in mind the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ as
Paul shared with the Thessalonian believers some tough truths concerning basic
Christian living. I am going to remind you that regardless of our circumstances
in life, this is not all there is! In Christ, there is more to life than
simply going through the same old, same old, day after day!
You and I are
not expected to get caught up in the world’s attitudes! If anyone has a “right”
to be sad and depressed about the daily grind, it is those without Christ. These
people are heading toward a destiny that represents the greatest tragedy of all
– stepping out into eternity without Jesus, unless, they are saved! God gives us more than can be comprehended.
For the sake of brevity, there is a sense
of purpose (the will of God for our life on terra firma); there is a final
destination (glory), not oblivion. There is life after death in Jesus Christ!
We are on the winning side of this spiritual warfare, and we have everything
going for us (Rom 8:28). He is coming for us at any moment!
You and I need
to always keep in the forefront of our thinking that we are destined for heaven
(cf. 1 Jn 2:28; 3:2-3; Jn 14:1-3), and the rapture of the saints could take
place as you read this! We could very well be that generation that doesn’t
physically die! Wouldn’t that be a killer!! This was what the Apostle Paul was
doing for those living in Thessalonica and for us via the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom
15:4). When it is all said and done, regardless of the circumstances of life,
we are glory bound! Jesus is coming for us! Should we get caught up in the
rapture, too, well, that is simply icing on the cake!
Okay, let’s
take a closer look at these three tough expectations from God that on the
surface solicits a natural response of, “You’re kidding me, right?” It’s
grammar time! I promised you it was coming.
In this passage,
Paul instructed the Thessalonians in 1 Thes 5:16-22 to do some things that
are very counter-intuitive to the desires of the flesh or the old man (our sin
nature). With Holy Spirit enablement, however, they are all very doable and
contrary to the appetites of the sin nature (1 Jn 2:16). Heartfelt obedience
to all eight of these commands will cause us to be pro-active rather than pro-reactive
in our response to our experiences in life. Again, we will narrow our focus to
vv16-18.
Should I miss
the rapture due to my appointment (Heb 9:27), I am coming to Him via the Holy
Spirit! Either way, heaven is in my future, what about yours? The best decision
I have ever made was placing my faith in Christ; I have never regretted it for
one second.
As we look
under the hood of this passage (1 Thes 5:16-18), you may question, “How can I
possibly do this?” Being on the top of your game regardless of the
circumstances of life demands walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16), knowing that
apart from Jesus, you cannot do what He asks of you (Jn 15:5), and in your
weakness, you know that you can do all thing through Christ who is
strengthening you (Php 4:13).
The world has
its own triad of temptations, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life. Whenever I am on the disobedient side of things, my
rejoicing, my praying, and my thanksgiving are significantly curtailed. I am
reflecting my former lifestyle prior
to salvation rather than a new creation in Christ after redemption. We are either
walking in the Spirit, or we are not (Gal 5:16; cf. Rom 8:8, 14); the latter is a sin because it is commanded, and walking in the flesh is prohibited because sinning
in knowledge is always the result.
So, let’s take
a closer grammatical look at these three tough verses. Hopefully, it will
provide a greater understanding that creates an awareness of divine
expectation, not options – for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:18b).
Rather than being
stuck on wondering how in the world we do what is commanded here in vv16-18
and then choosing to ignore it out of frustration, we need to pray, confess any
sin, and make an effort to find out what the Holy Spirit had in mind and go
from there. Our faith should be greater than our frustrations! Read Hebrews 11:4-38
of people who didn’t quit on God in situations far exceeding negative feelings!
Rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, and thanking are part of a worldview
that at the very least acknowledges that nothing enters our lives unless God
allows it. Let’s dig in.
Let’s look at
the word order of the NKJV, our default translation in Michael-Grams, then we
will compare the word order in the Greek text.
NKJV:
(1Th 5:16)
Rejoice always,
(1Th 5:17)
pray without ceasing,
(1Th 5:18)
in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Greek Text (pronoun supplied as the understood subject):
(1Th 5:16) evermore [you]
rejoice.
(1Th 5:17) without
ceasing [you] pray,
(1Th 5:18) in
everything [you] give thanks, this for is
the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
What we quickly deduce is that the emphasis of the Greek is on
the adverbs in v16 (evermore) and v17 (without ceasing), not the verbs rejoice (v16) and pray (v17); both
are dealing with time. In v18, the emphasis is on the prepositional
phrase, in everything, dealing with our circumstances.
This does not suggest that the NKJV is incorrect in vv16-17; NASB, a more
literal translation, does the same thing. The understood pronoun is considered
plural since, you, is plural in v18. Every believer in
Thessalonica and every believer in the world living today should understand
that concerning this trio of tough expectations, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
for you [all].
A literal rendering of the Greek presents awkward sentence
structures in English at times. Are we to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks, yes! Translators of the NKJV and NASB retained the
word order in v18 with slight variation between the two. Why the ESV, HCSB, NIV,
and RSV flipped the order in v18 and put the verb ahead of the prepositional
phrase is unknown! Since I am not a Greek scholar, they may have had a
grammatical opinion to justify the word order.
English word translations of the Bible take two paths. One
approach to biblical translation is dynamic equivalence. It focuses on readability
through a “sense-for-sense” translation of phrases and clauses. The other
translation utilizes the formal equivalence approach, a more literal “word-for-word” translation. Both contain variations of intensity in
word choices. Word choices and syntax reveal if the translators are
conservative or liberal in theology.
Not all Bible translations or paraphrases are equal. Some do a
better job of translating extant manuscripts than others. Another determining
factor is if the translator is using all or restricted to less than all
manuscripts. I only mention this because it gets into textual criticism and
philology.
Ideally, no translation of the Bible should be made to conform
to a certain theology (theologizing the translation). However, by the time any
person is qualified to translate the Scriptures from the “original” texts, his
or her theology is already set and bleeds out into the translation. Those adept
in the languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek are quickly alerted to any
blood stains of what they consider to be intentional alterations of a text to
fit an errant theological persuasion or possessing any politically correct (PC)
elements. How many times have we heard that the Apostle Paul was wrong about
this or that! To be clear, there are no theology-neutral translators. Even God
had a theological persuasion (cf. Jn 14:6)! But He is the only authorized
version! <><
%20MG%20t-bkgrd%2060x44.png){kind=small}
%20sunflower%20makeover%2045x63.png){kind=small}
 |
| To Part 4 |
