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7 And [kai] to you [humin] who are troubled [thlibo] rest [anesis] with [meta] us, [hemon] when [en] the Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] shall be
revealed [apokalupsis]
from [apo] heaven [ouranos] with [meta] his [autos] mighty [dunamis] angels, [aggelos]KJV-Interlinear
7 and to give relief to you who
are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, NASB
As we stated yesterday,
the Lord (who is Jesus Christ), will be coming back to this earth.There are two more visits on the calendar of
future events.The first is the Rapture.That date is set in heaven, but unknown to
humanity.
With the Rapture,
Christ will descend into the clouds, not to the ground, and call out His people
(all believers from the Church Age, both alive when the Rapture occurs, and those
who have already died during the history of our dispensation).
That event will be a
very private event as far as the world is concerned, but a
very public and wonderful event as far as believers are concerned.
Then there will be the Second
Advent.But quickly recall the timetable
of these events.
Currently we are living
within our dispensation, which is often called the Church Age.It is also referred to as the Age of the
Royal Family, or the Age of the Bride of Christ.These are all synonymous terms describing the
various attributes of our dispensation as set apart from other dispensations in
history.
Our dispensation began
with the giving of the Holy Spirit at the Feast of Pentecost, which occurred
fifty days after the Feast of Passover, which was the event of the Cross, over
1900 years ago.
Our dispensation ends
with the Rapture, wherein all believers from our dispensation, will receive
their (our) resurrection.
Note, that all unbelievers will remain on this earth for
approximately seven more years and will live through the most horrifying set of
events that will ever come to pass in human history.We call that seven year period the
Tribulation.
At the end of the
Tribulation, will occur the Second Advent of Christ,
it is this event of which Paul is now speaking in our current verse.
The word for revealed, apokalupsis,
means apocalypse or the Day
of the Lord, or the Day of Judgment.This will be the most violent moment, and literally it will last but for
only a moment, in history, as the Lord will destroy all evil in a single fell
swoop with the power of His will.This
does not occur at the Rapture.
And so, Paul is saying
to you, although your life may not be what you have wanted it to be, may not be
what you dreamed it should be, may seem like all of the good and fun of life
are going to those who do not deserve it, but then there is going to come a
time when all will be set right.
Those (evil) who do not
deserve what they have, will in fact receive that (judgment)
which they do deserve.
Those (mature
believers) who do not receive that which they should deserve (fun and
blessings), will receive much beyond their imagination, which they certainly do
not deserve (it is a gift from God), but will receive anyway.
There is going to be a
judgment.There is going to be a reward.
Today, most folks
ignore the truth of what is to come.Most folks reject God, Christ, doctrine, and their spiritual life.Most folks live within their own self defined
rules and standards, generated from political or popular or personal views, and
that is exactly why the world is heading downhill, but nobody sees the crash
which is just ahead.And that is why,
there is going to be a history as laid out by God, and of which Paul is going to
paint the picture for us, very soon in this letter.
But first we have to
understand the purpose of this letter, which is sin.
Why sin?Because the next prophetic event would never
occur if sin were not the issue.But
unfortunately the world is going to be overwhelmed by all manner of sin, and
not realize it.Or better
stated, it won t care.
Remember that sin is a
broad concept, and not restricted to crimes or gossips, but in fact the sins of
arrogance will drive politics, celebrityship, social standards, and the thought
patterns of nearly everyone on the planet, one day.
In Noah s day, how many
people boarded the Ark?Only eight.And out of a whole world population which
could have easily numbered in the millions or even hundreds of millions.Paul is going to describe a very similar
world, pattern wise, in our future. But first we need to finish painting the
picture before we can see it.
When that day of apocalypse
comes, then rest will come for all believers.Rest here is one that represents a person who has been doing very hard
work for a very long time and finally is able to set down and rest.A hardship or toil or pressure which is
finally completed or has run its course, and the
burden is permanently lifted.
That is the rest, or a
better rest, which awaits you now when you advance to spiritual maturity, and
especially when that future date of judgment arrives.
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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