Question
Please explain ” the day of Christ”, (especially in II essalonians ), and what Paul sets forth previously in I Corinthians regarding the order of the resurrections, and also what he says in I Timothy :–.
Response
e first thing that needs to be understood and appreciated is that “the day of Christ” is not a reference to the rapture of the church. It is not referring to the Lord’s coming for us when He concludes this present dispensation of His grace. Though it is commonly spoken of, and treated, as if it does refer to the rapture, in reality it does not.
Instead “the day of Christ” is just another way of designating “the day of the Lord”; i.e. the prophesied time in the final installment of God’s program with this earth and with Israel when He will have ‘His day’ in which He will bring His Father’s business ‘to a head,’ so to speak, and in so doing will execute His judgments and wrath against His enemies and will also reward His own people. Since “the Lord” is the Lord Jesus Christ, then His name can be used in a number of different forms to refer to ‘His day’ or to “the day of the Lord.” Wherefore ‘the Lord’s day’ can be referred to as either “the day of the Lord,” or “the day of the Lord Jesus,” or “the day of the Lord Jesus Christ,” or “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “the day of Jesus Christ,” or “the day of Christ,” or “the Lord’s day.” Each of these designations is referring to the exact same thing, i.e. to the prophesied “day of the Lord.” Likewise each of these designations is a fitting, appropriate, and also natural designation for ‘the Lord’s day,’ seeing that “the Lord” is the
Lord Jesus Christ, and as such He Himself is naturally designated by either “the Lord Jesus Christ,” or “our Lord Jesus Christ,” or “the Lord,” or “the Lord Jesus,” or “Jesus Christ,” or “Christ.”
So this is the first thing that we need to understand and appreciate. And this means that “the day of Christ” in II essalonians : is not referring to our rapture at the end of this present dispensation, but it is referring to the prophesied ‘Lord’s day,’ (”the day of the Lord”), that is scheduled to take place in the final installment in God’s program with Israel and with this earth that is yet “to come”; and which will come to pass just as it is scheduled to do, but only aer God concludes this present dispensation of His grace by the Lord coming for His church to rapture it to be with Him in the heavenly places. And of course this is the very thing that Paul assures us about in II essalonians , and he does so in view of the various ways in which the doctrine about the end of this present dispensation is going to be either deceitfully or incorrectly or mistakenly or insidiously handled by some, (either wittingly or unwittingly), by which saints can end up being deceived into thinking that “the day of Christ is at hand” and that therefore we are going to go through it to some degree or to some extent.
Therefore the erroneous issue that Paul is dealing with in II essalonians is not the teaching that the rapture of the church is at hand, but rather it is the teaching or idea that ‘Christ’s day,’ (“the day of Christ”/”the day of the Lord”), is “at hand.” And the reason this erroneous teaching existed amongst the essalonians, (and has continued to exist in various forms down through this present dispensation, including in our own time), is because it is a natural erroneous doctrine to expect from Satan and his policy of evil against the body of Christ. If believed, then it will successfully distract members of the body of Christ away from their proper godly edification as God’s “new creature,” (which is primarily and ultimately what the policy of evil is aer), and they will turn their attention to the things in God’s word about “the day of Christ,” having been caused to mistakenly think that with ‘the day of Christ being at hand’ they ought to, and need to, learn about the things that pertain to “the day of Christ,” seeing that they are going to go through it to some extent or to some degree.
So then when you are dealing with II essalonians , do not make the mistake of thinking that “the day of Christ” is referring to the rapture of the church; for it is not. Instead it is just another natural and fitting designation for the prophesied “day of the Lord.”
As I have said, this is the first thing that we need to understand and appreciate in connection with the questions that you have asked. I will deal with some more of the other issues next time.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
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