Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1884-03-05
Sunday School Lesson Notes.
BY REV. J. o. SHERBURN.
March l6th The Coming Of the Lord-I Thess. A. l7ls
and is.


with our previous lessons, since the churcI
at Thessalonca was begun under th
labors of Paul, and to strengthen an
build it up Timothy had been sent bacl
after joining Paul at Athens; see l. Thess
SO. After n time Timothy returned ant
made report to Paul concerning the stat,
of things at Thessalocioa, I. Thess. 3:
and upon receiving this report, Paul wa
moved TO write letter 10 the church a
that place. The report that Timoth,
brought was in the main very cheering
one to Paul, but about some matters h
seems to think that they lack instruction
One of those matters is mentioned at tn,
hginning of this lesson. II would no
have you ignorant concerning them which
are asleep" he says. Paul had not beer
long enough with the believers at Thessa
lonca to give them instruction upon al
the leading doctrines of revelation. /
may be that some false views concerning
death and the resurrection had gained
ground; or perhaps some were ever
disposed 10 question the idea of any life
after the death of the body. Be this as it
may, Paul deemed it important that they
,hould have better light on these matters
Others sorrow over their dead withou
any cheering hope, but he would not have
Christians among that number.
Hence he proceeds to state, at once, tht
ground work of our faith in the resurrec
tion. Faith in the resurrection of Jesus
he argues, ought to lead to belief in the
resurrection of his followers. The manner
of speaking of the dead as those asleep,
was not new among those to whom he
wrote. 1t was a favorite figure among
Greek authors, and could be adopted by
the Christians with a better significance
than it had ever had before. Paul next
proceeds 10 teach that those who re.
main alive upon the earth at the
coming of Christ, will have no advan.
tase over those who have long laid
in the grave. The word prevent has
lis old derivative meaning, to precede or
have an advantage over, Paul here gives
particular account of the order of things
at Christs coming. "The Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with shout"
signfying call of encouragement or com
mand. such as would be given to soldiers
or sailors. The voice of the Archangel
and the trump of God are the usual signs
by which the last great day is said, in the
Scriptures. TO be announced. AT the
sound of this call and this trumpet Paul
SAYS The dead in Christ, or the Christian
dead, will rise. Then, (and no apprecia-
betme will intervene, see I, Cor. Is: 52,)
wewhich are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the
couds to meet the Lord in the air." All
this accords with the declaration of the
angel who spake to the disciples as
they watched the ascending Son of Man.
The declaration then was, in like manner
shall ye see him return ga cloud received
him out of their sight" and he to receive
his followers in a cloud at his second
coming. At this point the question may
arise whether Paul implies a belief that
some who were then alive would be alive
at the coming of Christ? His language
would certainly seem to convey that idea,
"We which are alive and remain" is the
phrase he uses. And the only way Of
explaining that, SO as that it would not
convey the idea that he considered it
possible for him to live till Christ came,
would be to consider that bespoke OF those
on the earth at Christs coming as one
with those then on the earth. In other
words he dropped out the idea Of time, and
thought only of conditions-living on the
earth at Christ's coming. 1t is, however,
UNREASONABLE that Paul and other New
Testament writer's looked for an early
coming of Christ to Judge the world, SO
have many good men in every age since.
There are manifest difficulties about the
doctrine of resurrection, and they are
greatly increased whenever the time
element is made prominent in the discus
sion The comforting thought in the
whole subject is, $50 shall t0e ever be with
The Lord;" upon this the believer may
rest, and joining with 1t the blessing pro-
nounced in the Revelation: "Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from
bencetorth;" we can look upon death as
the door leading to the presence of the
Lord, and safely leave the difficult ques-
lion involved in the doctrine of general
resurrection to time when we can look
upou them from other than an earthly
standpoint. Paul commands the Christians
at Thessalonica to comfort one another
with the doctrine of future life with
Jesus, where the pure and holy may be
re united forever; but concerning the
times and seasons he declares that he need
not write them, for they knew before that
the day would come unexpectedly, and as
a thief 1t has been asked who are meant
by they" in the third verse. The usual
answer has been the world of unbelievers.
But we need not so limit the subject. The
expression They say" is always an
Indefinite general term meaning that
,art of mankind. usually the larger part,
gree upon a given proposition,
In this case the idea is that sometime,
when men, in the church and out of it,
least expect it, Christ will come. When
generally they settle down in carnal secu'
rity, suddenly they will be aroused by the
coming of their judge. Paul reminds his
brethren that they have been apprised of
these things, have seen the warning lights,
and hence have no excuse for being over
taken while off their watch. He reminds
them that lislless inaction (sleep), and
drunken debauchery are things that belong
10 tile night and darkness. But as they