THE SOVEREIGN SHAKING, THE HOLY COLLAPSE
When Paul first wrote the Thessalonians, he reflected on how close they had become while he and Silas were in Thessalonica: “We loved you so much, for you became so dear to us, that we shared not only the Gospel with you, but our lives as well.”[1] For the “apostle to the Gentiles,”[2] ministry was not a business model and people were not commodities; ministry was his means of reconciling shattered mirrors[3] to the One whose Image they were made and ordained to bear. Mankind has never faced a shortage of leaders zealous for platform and notoriety; too few are the fathers and mothers who will change dirty diapers, wipe snotty noses, teach us how to walk, and disciple us on the narrow way that leads to life.[4] Paul was an apostle, and a teacher, to be sure[5]—but he was a father first. He loved the Thessalonian disciples, and cared deeply for their growth and maturity in Christ Jesus.[6]
This is why he spent so much time talking to them about the return of Jesus and end of this “present evil age.”[7]
Eschatology, or the study of “end times,” was not a fringe topic within Paul’s teaching material. He so emphasized it within the three short weeks he spent in Thessaloniki, that he (gently) rebuked them for allowing false teachers to confuse and dilute the community’s eschatology after Paul’s departure.[8] “You don’t need me to write to you about Jesus’ return,” he said; “we spent three Shabbats going over all this.”[9]
I wonder if our pulpits and small groups and Zoom sessions are so built upon the bedrock of the moment the Son of Man splits the sky, that even our youngest disciples can stand against confusion with precise eschatological clarity? Do we fortify them with the “comfort”[10] and “encouragement”[11] of His return? Are they inspired to leverage their lives on the “better hope” of His sure coming?[12] Do we ourselves have enough depth and revelation on why the Son of Man must appear again in glory, that we can be trusted to shape others in this precious doctrine?
For Paul, these questions were paramount as he trained disciples who themselves made and trained more disciples. Confidence and conviction in the Second Coming—when David’s Son begins to rule and reign towards the restoration all things—galvanizes fidelity to and affection for King Jesus. It purposes our actions, orients our prayers, and strengthens us to endure varied trouble and persecution. And it is to this end that Paul opened his second letter to the disciples of Thessaloniki.
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.[13]
Consider this passage: their community was so marked by love for Jesus, it bled into their relationships with each other. They developed the very reputation we were commanded to garner at the Last Supper.[14] This vibrant Body life helped them all stand through incredible persecution—which Paul called “evidence of the righteous judgment of God.” Evidence! Why? “To count [them] worthy of the Kingdom.” Why? Because when the Son of Man returns, it is for those with faith[15] who can stand beside Him as a suitable companion for eternity.[16]
Paul uses some language here reminiscent of Peter’s first public testimony to the city of Jerusalem, just a few months after God was slaughtered as a lamb for their—and our—sins.[17] Luke records that Peter spoke of the suffering ordained for the greater Adam[18] (suffering to which we are yoked)[19] and followed with these words:
Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets long ago.[20]
Whom Heaven must receive until.
As Paul alluded to this moment, Jesus is “revealed” from Heaven to be admired, adored, and marveled at by all who believe, and to be glorified in His saints.[21] For all the Scriptures that describe His sky-splitting appearance—with lightning from one end to the other,[22] surrounded by “His mighty angels,”[23] “with a shout,”[24] and pulling His saints out of the grave and into glory[25]—it will be a moment too much for words. Yet Paul, as he so often does with his pen, brings us back to simple devotion: we who believe will marvel the sight of the One we’ve waited so long for. Our deliverance—tethered to Jerusalem’s deliverance—will be the Greater Exodus, when He brings His people fully out of bondage and fully into His covenantal promises.
Jesus spoke of this coming moment, when Heaven ceases to contain Him, when every eye will see Him, as the “birth,” the joy for which every mother endures the pain of labor.[26] And in the birth pangs, what the author of Hebrews calls “shakings,”[27] I pray we come to love the earthquakes that betray our idols[28] and quicksand foundations[29] for all they are. “The LORD has a Day” when everything will be brought low, and only He will be left standing.[30] All the better, that we may see Him most clearly. Until then, “come north wind, come south wind;”[31] and bring the shakings. Bring the earthquakes. And bring our beloved Bridegroom, for whom we wait.[32]
Maranatha.
Stephanie Quick (@quicklikesand) is a writer/producer serving with FAI. She lives in the Golan Heights and cohosts The Better Beautiful podcast with Jeff Henderson. Browse her free music, films, and books in the FAI App and at stephaniequick.org.
[1] 1 Thessalonians 2:8
[2] Galatians 1:7-10
[3] Genesis 1:26-27; man’s treason against God in Genesis 3 is conventionally referred to as “the Fall,” which I believe so well depicts how we, as mirrors made to bear the Image of God, shattered and now bear a distorted image until we are conformed back into the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:29)
[4] Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:24; 1 Corinthians 4:15
[5] Romans 15:20; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1
[6] 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11-12, 19-20; 2:6-13
[7] Galatians 1:4
[8] 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
[9] See Acts 17:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:5
[10] 1 Thessalonians 4:18, NJKV
[11] ibid., ESV
[12] Titus 2:13
[13] 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12, ESV
[14] John 13:34-35
[15] Luke 18:8
[16] Genesis 2:18, 24; Ephesians 5:31-32
[17] Genesis 22:8, 13-14; John 1:29; Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2
[18] Romans 5:14
[19] The principle of 2 Corinthians 6:14 applies to our relationship to Christ as His bride because “the Kingdom of Heaven is like aFather arranging a wedding for His Son” (Matthew 22:2). He is waiting until she is ready (Revelation 19:7).
[20] Acts 3:19-21
[21] 2 Thessalonians 1:10
[22] Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:27; Luke 17:24
[23] 2 Thessalonians 1:7
[24] 1 Thessalonians 4:16
[25] Daniel 12:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:50-56; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
[26] Matthew 24:8; John 16:21
[27] Hebrews 12:25-29
[28] Proverbs 6:34, NKJV; Song of Solomon 8:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 2:6-11; 3:19-20; Hebrews 12:25-29
[29] Matthew 7:24-27
[30] Isaiah 2:12-22; Philippians 2:9-11
[31] Song of Solomon 4:16
[32] Song of Solomon 8:14; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34; Revelation 22:17
