Wednesday, March 25, 2020

The Prophetic Parallels between Jesus and the Apostle Paul


For this we say to you by the word of the Lord ...
The Apostle Paul writing to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 4:15.


Jesus said to his disciples,  
“they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds 
of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a (a)trumpet,
 and they will (b)gather together His elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” 
Mathew 24:30b-31

Paul writes to the Thessalonians,  
"Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 
and our (b)gathering together to Him..." 
2 Thessalonians 2:1

(a) A trumpet will sound for the gathering of the saints.

(b)  Greek n Matthew 24:31 is episynagō - the verb form, meaning to gather together;  Greek in 2 Thess. 2:1 is episynagōgē - the noun form meaning a gathering together

Paul writes to the Thessalonians,
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of an archangel,
and with the (a)trumpet  of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first. 
Then we who are alive [and] remain
shall be (c)caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air.” 
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17a

(c) This catching up is the "rapture," so named from the Latin translation of "caught up."

Jesus said to his disciples,  
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you,
 and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. 
And then (d)many will be offended, will betray one another, 
and will hate one another. 
Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 
 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 

“Therefore (e)when you see the `abomination of desolation,'
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place
…flee…
For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning of the world 
until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved;
but for the elect's sake
those days will be shortened.” 
Mathew 24:9-12,15-16,21

(d) Believers being offended, betrayed, hated, and deceived could be the nature of the "falling away" (Greek is "apostasia") in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

(e)  The "abomination of desolation ...standing in the holy place" is the event Jesus said that Daniel spoke about that begins "Great Tribulation."  This is the event that Paul said would "reveal" the "son of perdition" or "man of sin."


Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 
“Let no one deceive you by any means;
for [that] (f)[DAY] [will] [not] [come]
unless (d)the falling away comes first,
and (e)the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 
who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped,
so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

(f) The word "Day" is added to the text to refer back to the reference to the "Day of the Lord," which is the coming of Christ as a thief to bring tribulation on those who persecuted believers.  
"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the  coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a  message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come."
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

Jesus said to his disciples,   
"But as the days of Noah [were],
so also will the (f)coming of the Son of Man be. 
For as in the days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
 until the day that Noah entered the ark, 
and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, 
so also will the (f)coming of the Son of Man be. …

But know this, that if the master of the house had known
what hour (f)the thief would come,
he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore you also be ready,
for the (f)Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 
Mathew 24:37-39, 43-44



Paul writes the Thessalonians, 
“you yourselves know perfectly
that the (f)day of the Lord
so comes as a (f)thief in the night. 
 For when they say, "Peace and safety!"
then (f)sudden destruction comes upon them,
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
And they shall not escape.”  
1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 

Paul writes to the Thessalonians:  
“[it] [is] a righteous thing with God
to repay with (f)tribulation those who trouble you, 
and to [give] YOU who are troubled rest with us
WHEN the Lord Jesus is (f)revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
in flaming fire taking (f)vengeance
on those who do not know God,
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 
when He comes, in that (f)DAY  
2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

Jesus said to his disciples, 

… Then two [men] will be in the field:
(g)one will be taken and the other left. 
Two [women] [will] [be] grinding at the mill:
(g)one will be taken and the other left. 
Watch therefore, for you do not know 
what hour your Lord is coming.”  
Mathew 24:40-42

(g) This being "taken" would correspond to (b) the "gathering together" and the (c) "catch[ing] up."  Though the "taken" is a different Greek word than used in those references, it is "paralambano," the same Greek word used by Jesus in a Scripture that is commonly understood as a rapture reference If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive [paralambano] you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:3


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