Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1916 — THE CHRISTIANS OF THESSALONICA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE CHRISTIANS OF THESSALONICA

1 Thessalonians 1; t:t3-i3—July 9. St. Paul's Letter to the Young Church. The Power of the Gospel Amongst Them —Their Activities In Spreading the Truth—A Highly Figurative Description of Jesus* Second Coming and the Resurrection of the Church. "If ice believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."—! Thessalonians 4.J4. VERY evidently the persecution which bad come upon the Church at Thessalonica had caused them to grow rapidly, as evidenced by their love, not only for one another, but for all of the Household of Faith throughout Achaia and Macedonia. This love of the brethren, SL Paul declares, was a manifestation of the fact that they had been taught of God. Under St. Paul’s instruction, supplemented by Timothy’s, the young Thessalonian Church had in a very short time attained considerable knowledge of the Divine Plan—much more than is enjoyed by a majority of Christian congregations today. For instance, they knew what very many today are ignorant of —that their hope centered in the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and in their being gathered to Him then; and that their friends who had died were “asleep tn Jesus,” to be awakened from that death sleep by our Lord at His Second Coming.— John 5:28, 29. Respecting Unscriptural Thoughts. The fact that the dead are asleep and cannot be awakened until the Second Advent has been lost sight of for several centuries. Consequently faith

in the Lord’s Second Coming has generally languished. In fact, many professed Christian people do not believe the Bible teaching that the dead sleep, but hold that they are more alive than ever —that at the moment of death they go to Heaven

or to Hell, and that their condition is permanent With such unscriptural thoughts before their minds, who can wonder that to such the Lord’s Second Coming is an event without special interest, lightly regarded by some and wholly rejected by others? Those who have been instructed by God’s Word and who do not follow “cunningly devised fables” originated by the Adversary, find that the Scriptures as a whole are illuminated with the grand hope of the coming of Messiah in power and glory, to establish His Kingdom of Righteousness and to awaken and uplift those who have fallen under the hand of Death—as many as will accept His blessing, under the terms of the New CovenantGen. 3:4, 5; Ezek. 18:4, 20; John 8:44.

“In Jesus” Vs. "In Christ.” As originally pronounced, the penalty against our race was not a sleep of death, but destruction. But God purposed a redemption from the death curse; and for this purpose Christ Jesus came into the world and died, “the Just for the unjust,” that He might bring us back into Divine favor. Consequently it has been proper to regard the world not as wholly cut off from life, but as j pierely sleeping—awaiting the return of the Redeemer as the Awakener, the Life-giver. In this sense the world may be’ said to “sleep in Jesus.” But let us not confound this with the very different expression, “the dead in Christ,” which applies only to the Church. In today’s Study the Apostle delivers a special message to the Church, instructing them that at our Lord’s Second Coming the sleeping saints will suffer no loss by reason of having fallen asleep, but that they will be granted a priority over the living saints,

in that they will be raised from the dead and glorified before the living saints are “changed.” In this connection we notice that the word translated “coming” in Verse 15 really signifies presence- after arrival—giving tlie

"Dead in Christ.” thought that the Lord will be present before the dead in Christ are raised, and prior to the change of the living saints. This thought emphasizes the Apostle's subsequent remarks respecting the Day of the Lord, and that the world would nqt know of it. Many careful Bible students hold that the "shout.” "the voice of the Archangel” and “the trump of God” are all symbols, referring to events now in process of fulfilment. In this connection we quote from “Studies In the Scriptures,” Vol. 2, p. 119: “Note carefully, too. the fact that each of the three prophecies Just referred to (Daniel 12:1; Revelation 11:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:16) declares the Lord's presence at the time when the events mentioned transpire. ♦ ♦ * If, therefore, we can recognize the shout, the voices and the sounding of the great trumpet, >ve should accept them as indications, not that the Lord will come soon, but rather that He has come and is now present; and that the Harvest work of gathering the wheat and burning the tares is already under way. This we shall soon see is abundantly proved by time-prophecies.”

“Asleep in Jesus.”