Identity in Christ - End Times
I've been doing a study in 1 Thessalonians and really feel the need to share the end of the age of grace. There is a lot of debate about this, whether the body of Christ will go through the Tribulation period, also known as the time of Jacob's trouble, or not. There are many labels about what an individual believes in all of this, pre-millennial, post-millennial, mid-Trib, just to name a few. I don't want to point out any "wrong's" that are out there, but rather would like to share my study on this, mostly in chapters 4 and 5 and let God's Word do the talking.
I'm going to look at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 in this study, but first, let's start off with 4:13-14
13 But
I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him
Verse 13 introduces the idea we're going to cover in this study. The Holy Spirit is inspiring the apostle Paul to write to the saints that it is His desire that we would know the situation for those that "fall asleep" in the faith. Later on, this desire to know the situation of the end also includes those which "are alive and remain" but we'll get there in a moment. The term used here for falling asleep does mean just that in the Greek, but it is clear that God is indicating those that physically die. God is assuring us that we should not act like the unbeliever who physically dies, because they do not have the hope, or the expected end, that the saint does. It is comforting that we know where our loved one is because of the earnest given us by the Holy Spirit until the "redemption of the purchased possession" as stated in Ephesians 1:13-14. We have an inheritance to look forward to when we are "in Christ", and it is a heavenly one (Phil 3:20).
Now note something very interesting that the English translation doesn't cover. That word for "others" at the end of verse 13 is the Greek word loipoy. There are several words for "other" in the Greek: Heteros, meaning another of a different kind, allos, meaning another of the same kind, and then there's this loipoy. Loipoy has the meaning of "the rest" or "those that remain". So take a look again at what God is saying in this verse. The saint should not sorrow as the rest or those which remain who have no hope. The "those which remain" here would be those that are not "asleep" and also have no hope. This is clear that God is referring to the living unbeliever here, so there should be quite the distinction between the believer and the unbeliever when a loved one passes into the next life.
Moving on to verse 14 we have the reason for not showing sorrow as the living unbelievers. The "if" here is stated as a given fact, or it could also be thought of as "since". The "even so" here has the idea of "then we also believe". So then, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then we also believe that God will bring those of the faith with Him even if they have physically died. Isn't that a wonderful comfort to the believer in the gospel of the grace of God (1 Cor 15:1-4)?
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
These verses are where we see and understand the rapture event. Note well that the first words of verse 15 say that these words are directly from Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul was given the privilege of having an abundance of revelations from Jesus Christ, and this was one of them (2 Corinthians 12:1, 7). In the second part of the verse, we have the distinction that "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep." The Greek is pretty interesting here, and can be literally translated this way: We the to live that are remaining up to the point of to know the Lord by face shall not go before the fallen asleep. It sounds a bit funny to word it that way, but I hope the message still gets across. We which are THE alive,or those that are really alive, meaning we who are made alive by the Spirit of God through faith in the gospel of Christ and remain alive PHYSICALLY, we will not go to be with Jesus Christ before those who have died in the faith of the gospel of Christ PHYSICALLY. Those that have died in the faith will be resurrected and join their Lord and Savior, and THEN those that are physically alive will join their Lord and Savior.
How is this going to happen? We get that answer in verse 16. The Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, shall descend from Heaven with a shout. The word "for" at the beginning of the verse can really be translated "because" (Greek hoti) and the word "with" each time is the Greek "en" which more literally means "within" or "in". So then we have the reasoning to verse 15 that we which are alive and remain will not prevent those who have died in Christ, because the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven in a shout (more literally a word of command or call), in the voice of the archangel, in the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The apostle is stating this as a fact since he received it from direct revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now note in verse 17 the word then. After the dead in Christ rise, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up (Greek harpazo, meaning to seize or snatch up) together with them in the clouds to (Greek eis) meet the Lord in (eis) the air, and so shall ever be with the Lord. I include the word eis there in the Greek because it has the idea of going to the point of, which is much different than en. I point all of this out because it is very clear the message Jesus is bringing to the saints at Thessalonica and then of course to us today. We are the same as them in Christ, part of the body of Christ, if we are trusting in the gospel of His grace. This is the blessed hope mentioned in Titus 2:13. This is the changing in the twinkling of eye mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. This is NOT something that John Darby came up with, but rather re-discovered the truth of. The rapture, or harpazo, was God's idea and it was known back when the apostle Paul was alive on this earth.
Can you see how comforting it would be for these saints at Thessalonica to hear these words? Whatever the confusion was on whether or not they would see there loved ones in the next life should have been put to rest by these words from Jesus Christ. That's why we have verse 18 to be comforted by this. Again, I have to point out some of the Greek because I feel like it is stronger language than the English. It says, "So then, encourage or exhort one another in (Greek en) these words."
So after Jesus points out the plan for the end of the age of grace, He inspires the apostle Paul to start off chapter 5 with a contrast in the word "but". That word alone tells us that we are about to hear about something else now. and that is described below:
5:1 - But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
The word "of" there is "peri" in the Greek and has the idea of encircling or concerning. The next obvious question is what are these times and seasons? How are they different than the rapture event? Let's take a moment to analyze this. We just talked about the end for the church, the body of Christ, but what about the rest of the world? After the body of Christ is caught up to Heaven, what happens on earth? Remember all of those references to the "day of the LORD in the Old Testament?" Remember the words "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom 12:19, Deut 32:35)? There are so many references to the day of the LORD and I encourage everyone to search for it in their studies of scripture. It was constantly referred to as a day of wrath and destruction. It has a specified time and is also referred to as a time of darkness on occasion (Isaiah 13:4-6, 9-11, 24:21-22, Zephaniah 1:14-18, Jeremiah 46:10, Joel 3:12-14, Ezekiel 34:12 etc.). These would be references to the end of the age on earth that ushers in the prophesied earthly kingdom. This is the kingdom spoken of by Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry and that the apostles asked about in Acts 1:6. Now look what it Jesus says in response:
Acts 1:7 - And he (Jesus Christ) said unto them, It is not for you to know the TIMES or the SEASONS, which the Father hath put in his own power.
When understanding right division, it is of paramount importance to know which end times belongs to which gospel. The gospel of the kingdom has the end time of the Tribulation to usher in the restored earthly kingdom that was promised to Israel. The gospel of the grace of God has the end time of the rapture, which then will allow the kingdom program to resume its course. This time frame can most easily be seen in Romans chapter 11.
Now I hope that I have made clear why the apostle Paul states that of the times and seasons that he doesn't need to write to them about it. Why? Because it doesn't pertain to them. Those of the body of Christ will be snatched up to Heaven before the Tribulation and events described in the book of the Revelation. We don't need to worry about signs to watch for, we just wait for the glorious appearing of our Savior (Titus 2:13). Let's move on and see the incredible contrast that the Holy Spirit draws here with the two different conclusions to the two different gospels.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Some interesting things are being said in the Greek here. That word "know" in verse 2 is "eido" which means to know intuitively or be aware of. The word "perfectly" is akribos, also used in Acts 18:25 translated "diligently", and it means with exactness. In other words, verse two is stating that Paul doesn't need to write to them because they already know exactly what's going on with the kingdom program. Verse 3 then is expounding on what will happen in the day of the Lord, which is similar to what happened just before the exile. There will be people saying all will be well, but then things take a drastic turn and they will suffer wrath and destruction. It will be as sudden as when the birth pangs start in a woman with child and they will not be able to get away from it.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
This is quite the contrast! The time of tribulation is referred to as darkness. Those that are going to be under the wrath of God are considered in darkness or the night. Paul is saying, "That's not you!" The saints of the gospel of the grace of God will not be seized in "that day" or the day of the Lord. See the words that were chosen in verse 5? They are the exact opposite of "that day" of darkness. The saints of today are sons/descendents/children of light (Greek phos). That word phos is also used in many places as a direct reference to God (John 1:4, 5, 7, 8, etc.). No wonder as we are all born spiritually when we accept the gift of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. We become "in Christ" as stated throughout the epistles of Paul and are no longer "in Adam" or in sin, but rather are made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Not only are we children of the light, but we are of the day. To emphasize this, we see that we are not of darkness nor of night.
See the emphatic contrast? Look back at chapter 1 and verse 10. a moment because these verses are a clearer picture of what was stated there.
1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
We are delivered from the wrath to come. Rapture first, Tribulation next, and we, the saints of the body of Christ will not belong to the Tribulation or wrath. I don't think it could be stated much clearer, but just because of our infirmities, the Holy Spirit continues the contrast.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
Knowing the statement by Jesus Christ Himself that we will not go through the Tribulation, we should not sleep as others but be watchful and sober. That makes sense, but again let's look at the Greek for even more clarity. The word "sleep" here means to compose oneself to sleep, like we get ready for bed at bed time. In the Greek it is katheudo. This is a different word than what was used in chapter 4 for those that sleep in Christ. The word "others" in verse 6 is again the Greek "loipoy" meaning those that remain. So then, verse 6 is an exhortation to stand out from those that are without this hope of the rapture event, being aware and alert to the program we are in.
Verse seven goes into description of the conduct of those that are in unbelief. They go to sleep AT NIGHT, and they impair their judgment or are drunk when? During the night. That is why they will be caught unaware when the Tribulation will come upon them.
Verse eight starts off in contrast again. BUT, let us who are of the day be sober, not drunk. Let us who are of the day not sleep because it is not night for us. Rather, we should show the proper conduct of a saint in the age of grace. We should put on the breastplate (Greek thorax) of faith (Greek pistis = the faith) and love (Greek agape, see definition in 1 Corinthians 13), and the helmet of the hope, or expectation, of salvation. Interesting that that should be the helmet. Where does the helmet go? On the head.The expectation of salvation then should always be on our heads, or in other words, in our minds. In light of that, we ought to conduct ourselves as God would like, in faith and love and hope. Those are the things that remained after the transition of kingdom gospel to grace gospel as stated in 1 Corinthians 13, especially verse 13.
Why should we behave as stated in verse 8? Because of the reason given in verse 9. We aren't appointed to wrath! We aren't appointed to the Tribulation! We will not go through the Tribulation because we are in Christ! All people were meant to be saved by Jesus Christ through His finished work on the cross of Calvary, which was the loving act of God reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). So we ought to act in such a way that stands out like a light in the darkness because it is God's will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Let them see the light in you, Christ in you, the hope of glory!
The Greek word in verse 9 for the word "For" is again "hoti" meaning because. The word "to" is the Greek "eis" meaning up to that point. Because God has not appointed us to the point of wrath, that is the reason to conduct ourselves as described in verse 8. The Greek for "obtain" is peripoiesis, meaning to possess. We were meant to possess salvation through ("by" is the Greek dia, meaning through) Jesus Christ. I can hardly contain myself on how awesome our God is by doing this for us!
Moving into verse 10, we see the conclusion again to the point. It doesn't matter whether we are physcally alive or not. One day, we will be with Jesus Christ forever and the same is true of all those that trust in what God did through Jesus Christ. The Greek word for "together" is the same as in chapter 4 verse 17. In fact take a look at 5:10-11 and compare with 4:15-18. Doesn't that look familiar? God was gracious to give us further detail in chapter 5:1-9 to put any debate to rest about the subject of the "end times" for the two separate programs of kingdom and grace. Unfortunately, it is the fault of man that does not "rightly divide" God's word and comes up with all sorts of confusion about what the end times mean.
I hope I presented clearly that there are two different kinds of end times as described by God. One is for the gospel of the kingdom, which involves the Tribulation and Israelite kingdom set up on earth with all sorts of signs to herald Jesus coming to the earth. The other is for the gospel of grace which involves the rapture where there are no signs but we are told to wait and look for our Savior from Heaven.
God gave a secret to the apostle Paul to tell the world. This is the mystery that was hid in God since before the world began (Eph 3:1-11) that by Him all things will be restored despite what Satan tries to do. But He will never force the choice on the individual. It is up to every man, woman, and child to choose whether or not to accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. There are two options presented in God's word for this age of grace: to be in Adam, under sin and the penalty with it which is death (1 Cor 15:21-22, Rom 6:23a), or to be in Christ and be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21, Eph 1:1-14, Rom 6:23b, Rom 8, etc.). To be in Christ, simply believe that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4, Eph 2:8-9, etc.). As always, search the scriptures to see if these things are so, because your eternity depends on that choice.
Moving on to verse 14 we have the reason for not showing sorrow as the living unbelievers. The "if" here is stated as a given fact, or it could also be thought of as "since". The "even so" here has the idea of "then we also believe". So then, since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then we also believe that God will bring those of the faith with Him even if they have physically died. Isn't that a wonderful comfort to the believer in the gospel of the grace of God (1 Cor 15:1-4)?
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
These verses are where we see and understand the rapture event. Note well that the first words of verse 15 say that these words are directly from Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul was given the privilege of having an abundance of revelations from Jesus Christ, and this was one of them (2 Corinthians 12:1, 7). In the second part of the verse, we have the distinction that "we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep." The Greek is pretty interesting here, and can be literally translated this way: We the to live that are remaining up to the point of to know the Lord by face shall not go before the fallen asleep. It sounds a bit funny to word it that way, but I hope the message still gets across. We which are THE alive,or those that are really alive, meaning we who are made alive by the Spirit of God through faith in the gospel of Christ and remain alive PHYSICALLY, we will not go to be with Jesus Christ before those who have died in the faith of the gospel of Christ PHYSICALLY. Those that have died in the faith will be resurrected and join their Lord and Savior, and THEN those that are physically alive will join their Lord and Savior.
How is this going to happen? We get that answer in verse 16. The Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, shall descend from Heaven with a shout. The word "for" at the beginning of the verse can really be translated "because" (Greek hoti) and the word "with" each time is the Greek "en" which more literally means "within" or "in". So then we have the reasoning to verse 15 that we which are alive and remain will not prevent those who have died in Christ, because the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven in a shout (more literally a word of command or call), in the voice of the archangel, in the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The apostle is stating this as a fact since he received it from direct revelation of Jesus Christ.
Now note in verse 17 the word then. After the dead in Christ rise, then we which are alive and remain will be caught up (Greek harpazo, meaning to seize or snatch up) together with them in the clouds to (Greek eis) meet the Lord in (eis) the air, and so shall ever be with the Lord. I include the word eis there in the Greek because it has the idea of going to the point of, which is much different than en. I point all of this out because it is very clear the message Jesus is bringing to the saints at Thessalonica and then of course to us today. We are the same as them in Christ, part of the body of Christ, if we are trusting in the gospel of His grace. This is the blessed hope mentioned in Titus 2:13. This is the changing in the twinkling of eye mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. This is NOT something that John Darby came up with, but rather re-discovered the truth of. The rapture, or harpazo, was God's idea and it was known back when the apostle Paul was alive on this earth.
Can you see how comforting it would be for these saints at Thessalonica to hear these words? Whatever the confusion was on whether or not they would see there loved ones in the next life should have been put to rest by these words from Jesus Christ. That's why we have verse 18 to be comforted by this. Again, I have to point out some of the Greek because I feel like it is stronger language than the English. It says, "So then, encourage or exhort one another in (Greek en) these words."
So after Jesus points out the plan for the end of the age of grace, He inspires the apostle Paul to start off chapter 5 with a contrast in the word "but". That word alone tells us that we are about to hear about something else now. and that is described below:
5:1 - But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
The word "of" there is "peri" in the Greek and has the idea of encircling or concerning. The next obvious question is what are these times and seasons? How are they different than the rapture event? Let's take a moment to analyze this. We just talked about the end for the church, the body of Christ, but what about the rest of the world? After the body of Christ is caught up to Heaven, what happens on earth? Remember all of those references to the "day of the LORD in the Old Testament?" Remember the words "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom 12:19, Deut 32:35)? There are so many references to the day of the LORD and I encourage everyone to search for it in their studies of scripture. It was constantly referred to as a day of wrath and destruction. It has a specified time and is also referred to as a time of darkness on occasion (Isaiah 13:4-6, 9-11, 24:21-22, Zephaniah 1:14-18, Jeremiah 46:10, Joel 3:12-14, Ezekiel 34:12 etc.). These would be references to the end of the age on earth that ushers in the prophesied earthly kingdom. This is the kingdom spoken of by Jesus Christ in His earthly ministry and that the apostles asked about in Acts 1:6. Now look what it Jesus says in response:
Acts 1:7 - And he (Jesus Christ) said unto them, It is not for you to know the TIMES or the SEASONS, which the Father hath put in his own power.
When understanding right division, it is of paramount importance to know which end times belongs to which gospel. The gospel of the kingdom has the end time of the Tribulation to usher in the restored earthly kingdom that was promised to Israel. The gospel of the grace of God has the end time of the rapture, which then will allow the kingdom program to resume its course. This time frame can most easily be seen in Romans chapter 11.
Now I hope that I have made clear why the apostle Paul states that of the times and seasons that he doesn't need to write to them about it. Why? Because it doesn't pertain to them. Those of the body of Christ will be snatched up to Heaven before the Tribulation and events described in the book of the Revelation. We don't need to worry about signs to watch for, we just wait for the glorious appearing of our Savior (Titus 2:13). Let's move on and see the incredible contrast that the Holy Spirit draws here with the two different conclusions to the two different gospels.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Some interesting things are being said in the Greek here. That word "know" in verse 2 is "eido" which means to know intuitively or be aware of. The word "perfectly" is akribos, also used in Acts 18:25 translated "diligently", and it means with exactness. In other words, verse two is stating that Paul doesn't need to write to them because they already know exactly what's going on with the kingdom program. Verse 3 then is expounding on what will happen in the day of the Lord, which is similar to what happened just before the exile. There will be people saying all will be well, but then things take a drastic turn and they will suffer wrath and destruction. It will be as sudden as when the birth pangs start in a woman with child and they will not be able to get away from it.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
This is quite the contrast! The time of tribulation is referred to as darkness. Those that are going to be under the wrath of God are considered in darkness or the night. Paul is saying, "That's not you!" The saints of the gospel of the grace of God will not be seized in "that day" or the day of the Lord. See the words that were chosen in verse 5? They are the exact opposite of "that day" of darkness. The saints of today are sons/descendents/children of light (Greek phos). That word phos is also used in many places as a direct reference to God (John 1:4, 5, 7, 8, etc.). No wonder as we are all born spiritually when we accept the gift of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. We become "in Christ" as stated throughout the epistles of Paul and are no longer "in Adam" or in sin, but rather are made the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Not only are we children of the light, but we are of the day. To emphasize this, we see that we are not of darkness nor of night.
See the emphatic contrast? Look back at chapter 1 and verse 10. a moment because these verses are a clearer picture of what was stated there.
1:10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
We are delivered from the wrath to come. Rapture first, Tribulation next, and we, the saints of the body of Christ will not belong to the Tribulation or wrath. I don't think it could be stated much clearer, but just because of our infirmities, the Holy Spirit continues the contrast.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
Knowing the statement by Jesus Christ Himself that we will not go through the Tribulation, we should not sleep as others but be watchful and sober. That makes sense, but again let's look at the Greek for even more clarity. The word "sleep" here means to compose oneself to sleep, like we get ready for bed at bed time. In the Greek it is katheudo. This is a different word than what was used in chapter 4 for those that sleep in Christ. The word "others" in verse 6 is again the Greek "loipoy" meaning those that remain. So then, verse 6 is an exhortation to stand out from those that are without this hope of the rapture event, being aware and alert to the program we are in.
Verse seven goes into description of the conduct of those that are in unbelief. They go to sleep AT NIGHT, and they impair their judgment or are drunk when? During the night. That is why they will be caught unaware when the Tribulation will come upon them.
Verse eight starts off in contrast again. BUT, let us who are of the day be sober, not drunk. Let us who are of the day not sleep because it is not night for us. Rather, we should show the proper conduct of a saint in the age of grace. We should put on the breastplate (Greek thorax) of faith (Greek pistis = the faith) and love (Greek agape, see definition in 1 Corinthians 13), and the helmet of the hope, or expectation, of salvation. Interesting that that should be the helmet. Where does the helmet go? On the head.The expectation of salvation then should always be on our heads, or in other words, in our minds. In light of that, we ought to conduct ourselves as God would like, in faith and love and hope. Those are the things that remained after the transition of kingdom gospel to grace gospel as stated in 1 Corinthians 13, especially verse 13.
Why should we behave as stated in verse 8? Because of the reason given in verse 9. We aren't appointed to wrath! We aren't appointed to the Tribulation! We will not go through the Tribulation because we are in Christ! All people were meant to be saved by Jesus Christ through His finished work on the cross of Calvary, which was the loving act of God reconciling the world to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). So we ought to act in such a way that stands out like a light in the darkness because it is God's will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Let them see the light in you, Christ in you, the hope of glory!
The Greek word in verse 9 for the word "For" is again "hoti" meaning because. The word "to" is the Greek "eis" meaning up to that point. Because God has not appointed us to the point of wrath, that is the reason to conduct ourselves as described in verse 8. The Greek for "obtain" is peripoiesis, meaning to possess. We were meant to possess salvation through ("by" is the Greek dia, meaning through) Jesus Christ. I can hardly contain myself on how awesome our God is by doing this for us!
Moving into verse 10, we see the conclusion again to the point. It doesn't matter whether we are physcally alive or not. One day, we will be with Jesus Christ forever and the same is true of all those that trust in what God did through Jesus Christ. The Greek word for "together" is the same as in chapter 4 verse 17. In fact take a look at 5:10-11 and compare with 4:15-18. Doesn't that look familiar? God was gracious to give us further detail in chapter 5:1-9 to put any debate to rest about the subject of the "end times" for the two separate programs of kingdom and grace. Unfortunately, it is the fault of man that does not "rightly divide" God's word and comes up with all sorts of confusion about what the end times mean.
I hope I presented clearly that there are two different kinds of end times as described by God. One is for the gospel of the kingdom, which involves the Tribulation and Israelite kingdom set up on earth with all sorts of signs to herald Jesus coming to the earth. The other is for the gospel of grace which involves the rapture where there are no signs but we are told to wait and look for our Savior from Heaven.
God gave a secret to the apostle Paul to tell the world. This is the mystery that was hid in God since before the world began (Eph 3:1-11) that by Him all things will be restored despite what Satan tries to do. But He will never force the choice on the individual. It is up to every man, woman, and child to choose whether or not to accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. There are two options presented in God's word for this age of grace: to be in Adam, under sin and the penalty with it which is death (1 Cor 15:21-22, Rom 6:23a), or to be in Christ and be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21, Eph 1:1-14, Rom 6:23b, Rom 8, etc.). To be in Christ, simply believe that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4, Eph 2:8-9, etc.). As always, search the scriptures to see if these things are so, because your eternity depends on that choice.
