Continued from page 304.

I now turn to the interpretation of 2 Thess. 1:, 2:There is in the latter chapter an (I think I may say) acknowledged mistranslation, of which the true and undoubted sense gives the key to the whole passage. I refer to ver. 2, " as that the day of Christ is at hand." It should be, were present. The word is used for, and translated in two different places, "present, "in contrast with things to come,-"things present and things to come." It is always its sense in Scripture. What the Thessalonians were troubled and upset in their minds by, then, was that they had been led by false teachers (pretending to the Spirit, and even alleging letters of Paul to this effect) to suppose that the day of Christ was actually come. The violence of persecution was very great, and as the day of the Lord is in effect spoken of as a day of terror and trial in the Old Testament, these false teachers had profited by this to persuade them it was there. The apostle with divine wisdom sets them morally right in the first chapter, as to their feelings and sentiments as to this, before entering, in the second, into positive instruction as to the fact of the Lord's coming. He shows them the folly (since Christ Himself was to appear for that day) of supposing that it was His own people and faithful ones He was going to make suffer and cast into distress and tribulation. No; it was His enemies and theirs who would be in affliction in that day, and they themselves in rest and peace. The very righteousness of God would assure this. It was a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that troubled them, and to His troubled ones rest, when Christ shall be revealed -for that is what brings in the day. It was only shown by their tribulations, that He counted them worthy of His kingdom that was to come with His appearing. This is the whole force of the apostle's reasoning :the Lord Himself was to bring in the day; it could not, when come, be a day of distress for His people, but evidently for His enemies and their persecutors.

In the second chapter he proceeds to unfold to them the real order of the events, and especially in connection with the place they had in them.

Here, again, we meet a question of criticism, but it affects very little the reasoning of the apostle. Some would change here the authorized English version, and read, "But we beseech you brethren, concerning the coming," etc., instead of," by the coming." The preposition itself is used in both ways, but its constant force with words of beseeching is "by " (sometimes "for," which has no place here). The force of the apostle's reasoning is this:that as they were to be gathered together to Christ, they could not be in the day which was to come by His appearing; they were to go out to meet Him in the air, and hence could not be in the judgments of that day, its trials or its terrors.

The apostle had taught them in his first epistle that they were to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Hence he could refer to it as a known truth. The saints were not to await the coming of the day of the Lord on the earth, but to go up to meet Him in the air, and be forever with Him. Did He appear ? they, we know, would appear with Him. But here he speaks of what they ought to have remembered, that they would go up before the day, and hence they could not possibly be in their actual state here on earth, if the day was come. The Church's connection with the return of the Lord was to go up to meet Him in the air, to be gathered unto Him. The "day "was entirely another thing; it was vengeance from His presence. Neither could the day therefore come before the objects of vengeance were there. An apostasy would come, and the man of sin would be revealed, whom the Lord would consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy by the appearing (the manifestation or display) of His presence.

We have, therefore, two things :the coming of Christ, and the public epiphany of His presence. From other scriptures also we know these to be distinct, exactly in this way-Christ's coming, and the manifestation of it ; for when He appears, we shall appear with Him (Col. 3:4)-hence must be with Him, caught up before even He appears at all. With the one (the coming) the saints are directly connected, by being gathered together to Him; with the other, (the day) because of His appearing He will execute judgment against the ungodly. They will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. But He will come to be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe; that is, they will be in the display of this glory in that day. They will appear with Him in glory-be like Him. Now it is quite certain they will not appear with Him when they are caught up to meet Him in the air. Thus it is not merely particular expressions, though these are clear and forcible, but the bearing, and object, and course of reasoning of the whole chapter, which shows the distinction of the rapture of the saints before Christ appears, and the coming of the day when He is admired in them.

What is important to remark is the entire difference of relationship in which the saints are put with Christ-we belong to Him, go to meet Him, appear with Him, are glorified together. The practical result is, not merely to clear up a question of dates and of time, but to change the whole spirit and character of our waiting and Christ's coming. We wait for Him to come and take us to Himself,-the full realization of our heavenly calling. There are no events connected with our relationship with Christ. We have no need of judgment to participate in blessing under Him; we go out of the midst of all events to meet Him above. The Jews and the world are delivered by judgments. Hence they must await the course of events and the full ripening of evil on earth for judgment, for the day will not come before. Hence, we find in the Psalms the appeal for judgment and the times of it, the declaration of the overwhelming character of evil, and the cry to God to show Himself, and render a reward to the proud. The Church on earth has no need to seek this; she belongs to Christ, and will be caught up to heaven out of the evil.

I add a few words on another passage suggested to me as one by which difficulties have been created in some minds, really desirous of the truth. I mean the connection of chap. 4:and 5:of i Thessalonians. I confess it does not affect my mind in any way; but as it does that of others, it is well to notice it. The difficulty, if there be any, arises from a serious confusion in the minds of those who make it – the very confusion into which the Thessalonians were led, namely, taking tribulation for the day of Christ. For the day of Christ, Christ must appear. Let us only keep this clear in our minds, and all these difficulties vanish.

The Thessalonians looked so earnestly for Christ's coming, with no further knowledge of the manner or order of it, that they thought believers who had died (and perhaps even died for Christ), would not be there to meet Him. This mistake the apostle corrects. He tells them that they must not grieve as those without hope, that they would not be left out of the cortege of glory, for Christ would bring them with Him. He then explains to them the manner, and shows that it is by their resurrection which would take place even before the living ones are changed ; and when this is also wrought by divine power, all would go up to meet Him in the air, and so they would be forever with the Lord. This parenthetically explains the manner by express revelation. They will go up to meet Him; subsequently, as we have seen from Colossians, appear with Him when He appears. The parenthetical part merely gives the association of the saints with Christ Himself, which is our proper portion. But he had said, as a general truth, in answer to their fears, that God would bring them with Christ. This leads him naturally to the general subject. He had no need to speak of times and seasons:The Thessalonians knew perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, and when they (the world) say Peace and safety, sudden destruction would come upon them, as travail upon a woman with child. He adds, "But, brethren, ye are not in darkness that day should overtake you as a thief :ye are all children of the day." It is alleged that the apostle could not have said that the day would not overtake them as a thief, if they were not to feel liable to be in some sort overtaken by it. Now, if the teaching of the apostle be examined, even in this place there is no possible ground for this, for the day of the Lord Christ must appear. But he had just taught them that they were to be caught up to meet Him in the air and be brought with Him. That is, he had taught them what made it impossible to suggest that the day could overtake them in any way or manner whatever. They were of the day, so to speak, as he indeed says," Ye are the children of the day," "Let us who are of the day." This passage says nothing of not being in the tribulation – we have treated that point already ; but the objection confounds the tribulation and the day which really closes it. The tribulation is Satan's power (though God's judgment in woe); the "day "is Christ's, which makes it His day, and in which Satan is bound. The passage speaks not at all of the tribulation; but it does speak of the day of the Lord, and with instruction as to the portion of the saints, which shows that can have in no way to do with them. They "are of the day," and to come in its power. The day will overtake the world as a thief:but it will not overtake you, for you are of the day. J. N. D.