A Signal That Jesus' Return Is Near
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together
unto him.
-- 2 Thessalonians 2:1
When Paul wrote his second letter to the church of
Thessalonica, he was exceedingly excited at the thought
of Jesus' soon return. In fact, he was so thrilled about
the prospect of Jesus' coming again that he devoted the
entire second chapter of Second Thessalonians to the
events that would occur in the last days. As Paul wrote
this famous chapter about the events of the last days,
he began by declaring, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto him."
Notice that Paul uses the word "beseech" in this verse.
Normally the word "beseech" would be the Greek word parakaleo,
but in this verse, Paul uses the word erotao
rather than the word parakaleo. The word erotao
means to ask or to make a strong request.
This word calls upon the listener to cautiously listen
to what is being said and to respond in a fitting manner
to what has been heard. Because Paul is speaking of the
coming of the Lord and uses the word erotao to
appeal to his listeners, he clearly means for them to
take his words seriously and to let these words make a
strong impact in their lives.
When we think about the coming of the Lord, it should
make a strong impact in our lives. It should affect the
way we live, the way we think, the way we carry on in
our relationships, and the way we invest our money into
the Kingdom of God. It is simply a fact that Jesus is
coming for His Church, and we should constantly live in
the light of His coming. When we live with the awareness
that Jesus is coming again, it changes our conduct and
behavior. By using the word erotao ("beseech"),
Paul is communicating to his readers that they have a
responsibility to respond to his message about Jesus'
soon return. They are to live in a godly, upright, and
holy manner as they wait for "the coming of our Lord."
Then he begins to speak to them about the "coming of our
Lord." The word "coming" is from the Greek word parousia.
This word always places special emphasis on the Presence
of the Lord - especially the Presence of God that can be
tangibly felt among His people. Here it is used to
describe the strong Presence of God that will be felt
when Jesus returns to gather His people to Himself. The
word implies that the Church will feel a phenomenal
divine Presence when it is time for Jesus to gather His
people to Himself at the end of the age.
This means that as we come closer to the return of
Jesus, the parousia - the strong Presence of
the Lord - will be strongly sensed among
believers. In fact, the ever-growing, strong Presence of
the Lord in the midst of the Church will be one of the
signals that Jesus' return is close at hand. As His
Presence gets stronger and stronger, we will know it is
time for Him to return to "gather" us to Himself.
When Paul speaks about "our gathering together unto
Him," the phrase "gathering together" comes from the
Greek word eisunagoge. This word is used
perfectly in the apocryphal book of Second Maccabees
2:7, where it refers to that moment in the future
when God will finally gather His people together to
Himself. This is exactly how Paul uses it in
Second Thessalonians 2:1 as he talks about that moment
when God will finally gather His people together
to Himself at the coming of Jesus.
In Second Thessalonians 2:1, Paul uses the word episunagoge
("gathering together") to describe that future moment
when the Lord will quickly gather or collect
His people together to Himself at the end of the age. At
that divine moment, all of God's people will be quickly
gathered together and collected in a common assembly to
meet the Lord in the air. What a meeting that will
be!
Considering the Greek words that Paul used in
Second Thessalonians 2:1, this verse could be
interpreted the following way:
"Brothers, I make this urgent, heartfelt request to
you today, earnestly and sincerely pleading with you
from the bottom of my heart to hear what I'm telling
you and to do exactly as I say. The appearance of
the Lord Jesus Christ is very near. In fact, it is
so close that we can almost feel His Presence as if
He were already here among us. The moment we have
all longed for and waited for is almost upon us! I'm
talking about that moment when Jesus will finally
gather us together to Himself."
The apostle Peter warned us that at the end of the age,
many scoffers would mock at the promise of Jesus'
return, asserting that if Jesus was going to come,
surely He would have already come. Peter wrote, "Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying,
Where is the promise of his coming?..." (2 Peter 3:3,4).
The word "scoffers" is from the Greek word empaidzo,
and it described one who makes fun of another
through mockery. It conveyed the idea of disdain,
scorn, derision, and ridicule. The Greek
word empaidzo also meant to play a game.
It was often used for playing a game with children or
for amusing a crowd by impersonating someone in a silly
and exaggerated way. For instance, this word might be
used in a game of charades when someone intends to
comically portray someone or even make fun of someone.
We find this word used in Luke 22:63, where the Bible
tells us, "And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and
smote him." The Greek word empaidzo
categorically lets us know that these men turned a few
minutes of that nightmarish night before Jesus'
crucifixion into a stage of comedy at His expense. They
put on quite a show, hamming it up as they almost
certainly pretended to be Jesus and the people He
ministered to. Perhaps they laid hands on each other as
if they were healing the sick; or lay on the floor and
quivered, as if they were being liberated from devils;
or wobbled around, acting as if they had been blind but
now could suddenly see. Whatever these leaders did to
mock Jesus, it was a game of charades to mimic and make
fun of Him.
Now Peter uses this same word to depict mockers in the
last days who would make fun of those who believe in
Jesus' coming. I can almost hear them saying, "Come on,
if Jesus was going to come, don't you think He would
have been here by now? Quit hanging on to this false
hope, you dreamers!"
But the grammar used in Second Peter 3:3,4 tells us that
this mocking is the characteristic behavior of these
scoffers. It could be more accurately translated, "Mockers
will come mocking." In other words, they don't
only mock on occasion; they are mockers by habit.
They find great delight in regularly mocking and making
fun of those who believe that Jesus is coming to gather
His Church to Himself.
But regardless of what doubt-filled believers or
antagonistic unbelievers say as they mock us, the truth
is that Jesus is coming again soon! Second
Thessalonians 2:1 gives us one of the signs that will
occur to let us know His arrival is upon us: We will
suddenly be aware of the supernatural Presence of Jesus
in the Church like never before. The closer we come to
the time of His return, the more strongly this
phenomenal Presence of God will be felt in our midst. In
fact, it will seem as if His coming is already upon us!
That strong Presence of God will signal to us that it is
just about time for Jesus to quickly gather us and
collect us to Himself!
So in the days to come, close your ears to the mockers
who make fun of you for believing in Jesus' soon return.
Then open your heart to the Holy Spirit, and allow Him
to make you sensitive to His voice inside your spirit.
As you are faithful to do this, you will recognize that
moment when the Presence of God becomes much stronger in
the Church, and you'll know that moment for what it is -
one of the greatest indications that Jesus' return is
upon us!
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