Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

As we now come to this second letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, it seems Paul evidently writes it very soon after his first letter to the church.

There would be much said in this letter about the Second Coming, including the time of the coming of the "Anti-christ", how the church would be spiritually at that time and what would happen to those who had heard the gospel message, understood the gospel message, and then "rejected" the love of the truth that they might be saved, II Thessalonians 2:10-12.

Paul, however, starts his letter with thanksgiving to God for the word coming to him of the spiritual life of the Thessalonians. Paul was so pleased that he had heard of their faith that was growing, as he stated it, "exceedingly", verse 3.

Also in verse three we find out how their love for each other was increasing and in fact, "abundantly". Paul also realizes their "patience" even during times of persecution and trouble for these new Christians and how they were able to "endure".

This is an excellent list of objectives for each of us "older Christians", a growing faith, love for each other, patience and ability to endure persecution.

Paul then encourages the Thessalonians with the fact that the Lord will bring judgment upon all those who were persecuting them, "when He shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels," verse 7.

Verses 5-9 indicate that when Jesus comes back this next time, He will come as the "judge". People don't want to hear of Jesus as the "judge". His righteousness, however, demands that He judge sin.

Peter, in II Peter 3, wrote that people would deny the coming of the Lord because they do not want to face judgment. Jesus came as the "lamb", our sacrifice for sin, but He is also coming as the "Lion of Judah," the coming judge.

Paul then tells the Thessalonians that his prayer for them is that the "name of Jesus Christ would be glorified in them". verse 12.

That must be our goal, our lives glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a great passage of scripture we come to for today's devotional. It is very prophetic and at the same time very, very practical. Let's look at the practical first in our devotional reading. Again, space will not allow me to mention all of the practical verses in I Thessalonians 5, but only a few of the most practical.

Starting in verse 16 we come upon some great "nuggets of truth". Verse 16, "rejoice evermore", is one of the shortest verses in the Bible. This is an exhortation from Paul, which follows the truth of the Rapture, I Thessalonians 4:13-18.

I Thessalonians 4:18 tells us to comfort each other with the truth of the Rapture. The understanding of the truth of the Rapture, and how close it could be to taking place is what gives us the ability to "rejoice evermore". The next verse, verse 17, tells us to "pray without ceasing".

If we walk in a constant attitude of "prayer", that will play a key role in helping us to conform into His image and prepare ourselves for His soon return. "In everything give thanks," verse 18, is one of the best bits of advice you or I could receive.

God seems to move closer to us when we thank Him for all things, even for heartaches and troubles. Besides," this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning each of us". The very best for each of us is to be in the center of God's will, "give thanks in all things".

When Paul exhorts us to "quench not the Spirit", verse 19, he's telling us to stay away from sin in our lives, that's what quenches the Spirit. We need daily the "Spirit of God" to empower us for daily living and service.

Verse 22 is an exhortation that helps us to grow closer to the Lord. We do this by "abstaining from all appearances of evil". That which appears to be evil, that which is in front of us or within us, our own appearance that seems evil, as seen by the world, that is what we are to abstain from every moment of every day.

Paul's prayer for us is that our whole being, spirit, soul and body, be preserved "blameless" as we await "the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ", verse 23.

Now, quickly glance at several of the "prophetic thoughts" from this passage. Notice verse 3, when they say "peace and safety", those are the words that help us to recognize that the Lord's judgment, the Tribulation Period, and our Lord's soon return to earth is getting very close.

In the first verses of this chapter, verses 1-8, Paul is assuring the recipients of this letter that the Rapture hasn't happened yet because we are not in the "Day of the Lord". The "Day of the Lord" refers to the time of judgment leading up to the Lord's Second Coming. The "Day of the Lord" does not start until after the Rapture has happened.

Verse 9 assures us of the fact that when we leave this earth, responding to the shout of the archangel, the sound of the trumpet, the Lord's call for us to join Him in the air, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, at the Rapture, we will do so before the seven-year period of time of judgment begins.

God has not appointed Christians to partake of the "wrath" to come, that seven-year period of judgment. As we see the revealed events of the Tribulation Period seeming to be about to happen we can look up with great anticipation of His shout for us to join Him in the heavenlies. Praise the Lord for these practical and prophetic truths.

I could hardly wait to get to this chapter in 1 Thessalonians for our devotional time. The "hope" of my life and indeed the main prayer of my life is that the Rapture will happen in my lifetime.

I have traveled across this world telling people of the Rapture and then teaching the prophetic passages of His Word to help everyone that I have contacted to understand that today could well be the day of the Rapture.

We'll look together at the description of how the Rapture will play out in a moment, but first just a word or two about Paul's message to the people in Thessalonica who he had led to the Lord just three weeks before he wrote this letter to them.

Paul tells these new Christians, as well as us long-time Christians, that we will "abound" if we will walk with the purpose of "pleasing God", verse 1. Paul then tells them, and us, what the will of God is for our lives, verses 3-12.

No longer do we have to say "I wish I knew the will of God for my life". The best way to be in God's will is to follow the instructions in these verses.

Now to the Rapture, actually the word "rapture" is not used in this passage, in fact the word rapture is not used in the entire Bible. Don't be concerned about that, the word "trinity”, the term for God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is not used in the Bible. The truth of the matter is that the word "Bible" is not used in the Bible.

The word "rapture" comes from the Latin word for the phrase "caught up" in verse 17. The Latin word, "rapturo," in verse 17, is how we get the word Rapture. I Corinthians 15 says, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," we will be caught up to be with the Lord.

Verse 14 says that only saved people go to be with the Lord at the Rapture. Verse 16 says that those Christians, which have already died, they will be the first ones to respond to the Lord's shout, the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel.

It is after the "dead in Christ" have been raised and start towards heaven that the rest of us Christians move from this earthly home to a heavenly home, never to leave the Lord's presence, forever, verse 17.

This event, the Rapture, could happen at any moment and with the prophetic events recorded in God's Word seemingly coming to pass, the Rapture could happen today. Even so come, Lord Jesus.


PRAYER THOUGHT: Lord, my hearts desire is for the Rapture to happen in my lifetime. Help me to live every day as if it would be today.

When the Apostle Paul wrote his first book to the Thessalonians they had only been Christians about three weeks when they received the letter. As we read our devotional, the extended reading reveals Paul's great desire to once again be with these he had led to the Lord.

He repeats time and again that he wants to be with them to help in their spiritual growth, verses 2, 5, 6, 10 and 11 . Paul had the desire to see his new converts mature in the Lord.

This is a great example to all of us, even those of us who are so-called "professional ministers". Have you known a "minister" who gets so busy that he has no time for ministering to the "flock"? That is a tough question for me to answer. I don't know about you, I do know about me. I need to spend more time following Paul's example.

Paul actually shares with us that ministering to others is a real joy, verse 9. I love that thought from the previous chapter in I Thessalonians 2:19-20. Those who Paul had led to the Lord are a "rejoicing to him", they are his glory and joy. Notice that there is a "crown" at the Judgment Seat of Christ which we will receive, the "Crown of Rejoicing," for being a soul winner, I Thessalonians 2:19.

By the way, Paul had trained up a "helper", a "fellow laborer", a young man named Timothy. Paul was ministering one-on-one with Timothy and at the same time wanting to minister to the Church in Thessalonici.

I get tired just reading about Paul's ministry, what a schedule he had. He worked, looking for the privilege of establishing the hearts of these new converts. He wanted them to be un-blamable in holiness before God the Father at the second coming of Jesus Christ, with all of His saints.

Paul sets the bar high for us to reach up to as we follow his example of ministering to all people. A motivation for this is the reality that we will stand before Him and it will be revealed what we have done for Him and among His people, the Christians that we have opportunity of ministry with today.