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TUESDAY— THUR SDAY BIBLE STUDIES IN I THESSALONIANS -ill : ill 1i<>5Sl1V,” ®iS§8S
The Return of the l t » 0 LORD BaPPSSs fm -Of. Lfoyd T. Andmson * O g ii Pa$i(yffi)f fpe Bethany Baptist Church of W&fft Q&vina, CalifMni^S P a u l ’ s word on comfort concerning the dead is most inspiring in I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
in the city (II Thess. 2:5), but the main point of his teaching had evident ly concerned the advent of Christ and not the resurrection. In the meantime perhaps some of the believers had died, and the question arose, “Had their pre mature deaths caused them to lose all hope of sharing in the glorious reign of Christ?” The fact that this question did arise points to the early date of the Epistle, for only at the very beginning of the church when but a few had had time to die could have caused such great anxiety” (Salmon, Introduction to the New Testament, p. 363). That this agitation had arisen over this mat ter was probably reported to Paul by Timothy on his return from the city. Paul’s answer to the problem is a re assuring affirmation that the dead will be raised and will therefore share in the kingdom. As to the personal return of Christ there was not the slightest doubt. The belief in that return was an essential article of the faith of the Thessalonians. They are described as those who “turned unto God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.” So real and (continued on next page) 19
Erdman, “Is the soul immortal? Will personality persist after death? If a man die, shall he live again? Shall we recognize o u r friends in heaven? These questions ever have been of su preme interest to the human heart. To these questions Christ had given an affirmative reply, on which imperish able and inspiring beliefs are firmly founded. There were, however, more specific yet related questions which had arisen among the Christians at Thessalonica: Would those who were alive when the Lord returned have an advantage over those who would die before that event? What would be the experience or fate of the latter? Would they share in the glory of that great day?” As has been suggested, the cause of restlessness among some of the Thessa- lonian Christians was the belief that since the Lord’s coming was imminent there was no point in working any longer. The entire subject of the return of Christ had thus come to the apostle’s mind. It is clear that Paul had taught much about this subject while he was
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