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Continuing
LBHRE UNO WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LUTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol.xm April, 1942 No.4
CONTENTS Pase
Verbal Inspiration a Stumbling-Block to the Jews and Foolish-
ness to the Greeks. Th. Engelder . 241
Leading Thoughts on &chatology in the Epistles to the
Thessalonians. L. Fuerbrlnger ._______ ________ ___________ ____ 265
Luther: A Blessing to the English. W. Dallmann _______ 273
Outlines on the Wuerttemberg Epistle Selections ____ _ 290
Miscellanea _. ___ _____ ___ _ ___ _____ ___ _______ ___ 30Z
Theological Observer. - Kirehllch-Zeitgesehichtliehes ___ 303
313Book Review. - Literatur ___ __ _
Eln Prediger muss nlcht alleln toei
den, also class er die Schafe unter
weise. wie ale rechte ChrIsten sollen
sein.lOI1dern auch daneben den Woel
fen toehTe7', class sfe die Schafe nlcht
angrelfen und mit falBcber Lehre ver
fuemen und Irrtum elnfuehren.
Es 1st keln Ding. da8 die Leute
mehr bel der Klrche behaelt cleDD
die gute Pred1gt. -Apologie, An. Z4
If the trumpet glve an uncertain
sound. who sba1l prepare hlmIeIf 10
the battle? -1 Cor.14:B
Published for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLISHING BOUSE, St. Louis, Mo.
to Thessalonians
directed Thessalonians
Chap. But was just the thing
question within congregation
work, others in their
fanatical many regarded spiritual as
their and thought. For that reason Paul ad
them: business
may walk honestly them without and
may He had them
regard
had not with success desired. In as result
of
many the return
Lord would place immediately, and for that reason
to neglect daily occupation, walked disorderly,
"busybodies," Thess. Therefore apostle
supplements his previous eschatological instructions by pointing
Lord judgment that
the revealed.
eschatological Epistles
Thessalonians.
The section coming into consideration here is 2 Thess. 2: 1-12.
begins: you, brethren,
Jesus Christ gathering together unto
that ye not soon shaken mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor word, by
Christ is hand." Vv. 1, 2. The return the Lord, the personal,
glorious return of Christ, which, as he just shown, will take
place the punishment ungodly bring reward
of grace to the believers, chap. 1: 3-10, return is still upper
in mind, regards it matter of such vital impor
tance to Christians that he pleads with his readers to give
careful heed to what he has to say. return of Christ will
apostle here indicates, "our gathering together
unto Him," "unsere Versammlung zu ihm." After who have
J
__
-'----------'
Eschatology in the Epistles the 265
Leading Thoughts on Eschatology in the Epistles
to the Thessalonians
II
In his First Epistle St. Paul had the
not to concern themselves about the exact time and hour of the
return of Christ. 5: 1,2. that in which
many within the congregation were particularly interested. Already
from the First Epistle we see that the return of Christ had become
so live a the that many had become
disturbed over it; some had gone so far as to neglect their daily
idly depending on to support them, and
zeal matters the only ones
worthy of time had
monished "Study to be quiet and to do your own
and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; that
ye toward that are that ye
have lack of nothing." Chap. 4: 11, 12. shown
the proper attitude with to Christ's return. Yet Paul's
efforts met the fact, a
of ever increasing persecutions and the intrigues false teachers,
Thessalonians had come to the conviction that of
the take they
began their and
became 2 3: 10-12. the now
out that the will indeed return for but
He will not come before great Antichrist will be
That is the second leading thought in the
to the
Paul "Now, we beseech by the coming of
our Lord and by our Him
be in
by nor letter as from us, as that the day
of at of
had
for of the but will a
this
most his and he as a
all
The
bring with it, as the
those
,
, ,
,
,
.
266 Eschatology in the Epistles to the Thessalonians
fallen asleep in Christ will have been raised from the dead and
after the living believers in Christ will have been changed, both
will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, to be with Him forever. 1 Thess.4:17. In this important and
consoling truth the Thessalonians are not to let themselves be
shaken, be made to waver, be disturbed, so as to be deprived of
their reasoning power, their ability calmly to deliberate on matters,
dlto 'tOU 'Vo6); much lesll are they to permit themselves to become
frightened and terrified. These expressions, as also the adverb
connected with them, "soon," 'taX8oo), quickly, indicate that as soon
as the subject of the return of Christ was mentioned in the con
gregation, the Thessalonians were seized by a certain panic, or at
least they were in danger of being thus carried away and becoming
confused. Three factors might be. the cause of such a disturbed
state of mind: spirit, word, and letter.
In the first place the Thessalonians should not permit them
selves to be misled by "spirit," aLa ""eUl-'a'to). This expression most
probably refers to the miraculous gift of prophecy in apostolic times
rather than to fraudulent manifestations of spirits or revelations
by dreams. Members of the assembled congregation would be
seized by the Spirit of God and make prophetic utterances. There
was present always the danger of abusing this gift, of uttering
one's own views, while purporting to be under the influence of the
Holy Spirit. Therefore these prophetic utterances were not to be
accepted indiscriminately. They were to be tested by the revealed
Word of God, by the doctrine of the apostles. This the apostle
emphasizes on various occasions, particularly also in his First
Letter to the Thessalonians, "Quench not the Spirit, despise not
prophesyings, prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
Chap. 5:19-21. Cpo 1 Cor. 14:32; Rom. 12:7. In like manner Paul
here very clearly warns his readers against the danger of being
deceived by men claiming to have the divine gift of prophecy.
If any prophet told them that the parusia of Christ was present,
they should not believe him, not permit him to disturb and terrify
them. Such prophets were speaking not the Word of God but
their own preconceived views; they were not teachers but dis
turbers of the congregation.
With like care the Thessalonians were to be on their guard
against the danger of being misled by "word," or speech, aLa
i..6yov. This term does not denote some word of Christ or of the
apostles that was misunderstood by the Thessalonians. In con
trast to "spirit" it means here a discourse or instruction by means
of simple exposition of Scripture based on personal study of the
written Word, connected perhaps with frequent quotations from
Holy Writ. It denotes, therefore, a discourse spoken not in
Cpo
Finally, Thessalonians were to themselves be
First Epistle to the Thessalonians but rather to letter falsely
letter no exists today. (Cp.
personal signature. 3: 17; was
false prophecy teaching
merely pointing to the possibility that
might
mentioned members of
congregation easily led that Day the
governed accordingly. has
the Eveo"t'ljXEV, sei." Authorized
Version likewise correct "at hand," the
Revised Version when translates "just
meaning of Lord
but is actually here, present. Rom. 8: 3: 32;
Gal.l:4.) Paul when says, "As
the day is
time prominent position verb EveO''t'l]%EV, "as though at
hand Christ," indicates that Paul not to
of Judgment thought distant
future. The thing against which he cautions that Thes
salonians themselves to "Now
here." persecutions, which
anew in violent form, had brought about that state of mind in
Thessalonica. Such persecutions were looked the tribula
tions that were immediately to precede return of Christ, and
to another: "That beginning the
Perhaps a similar reminder would not be amiss in this con
nection. the so-called
times," it is common practice to use expressions such as: "The
world cannot stand much longer; the Last Day must be near."
Nonetheless,
be cautious lest we become too definite and positive in our asser
tions. man when hour for certain events
,L
Eschatology in the Epistles to the Thessalonians 267
prophetic ecstasy, during which the Holy Spirit controlled and
moved the powers of thought and speech, but an instruction on
the order of the sermons or catechetical instructions of our day.
1 Cor. 14: 26 3Ll\U)(;t]; 12: 8, A6'YoL.
the not let
misled by a "letter" allegedly written and sent by Paul. This
refers not, as some have claimed, to a misunderstanding of the
a
ascribed to the apostle, which seems to have contained the error
mentioned, a of which copy Paul's
criterion for determining the authenticity of his letters, namely,
his 2 Thess. 2: 15.) Even as it
possible in Thessalonica for and false to
prevail, so it seems that a forged letter of Paul was being circulated.
It may be, too, that Paul is
forged letters bearing his name be circulated.
Through the three mediums just the the
might be to believe the of
Lord had actually dawned, and naturally their conduct would be
Luther given us a correct translation
of Greek word "vorhanden The
is when it translates also
American it at hand." The
is not: The day the is near, or is about to dawn,
is (Cp. 38; 1 Cor.
This view rejects as incorrect he
that of Christ at hand," ciJK before lI·n. At the same
the of the
is the day of does wish
have the Day to be of only as in the
is the
permit be disturbed by the cry:
He is Very likely the had broken out
up as
the
one said must be the of Day of
Judgment."
When reference is made to "signs of the
Certainly those who speak thus mean well. we should
For no knows God's
268 Eschatology in the EpisUes to the Thessalonians
will strike and when all the various signs of the times which God
has arranged will have been fulfilled completely. On the other
hand, we should not overlook the other truth of the text. In dis
cussing the first point we observed that the return of Christ will
be terrible for the unbelievers and the children of this world,
for those living in carnal security and unfaithfulness. (Cp. March
issue, p.191.) To such people Judgment Day will come as a thief
in the night. The destruction will overtake them suddenly, as the
pains of a woman in travail, and they will not escape. However,
here Paul speaks of the believers, the Christians. They are not
to let themselves be frightened or disturbed; to them the thought
of Judgment Day is not to be one of terror but rather a source
of comfort. For the return of Christ will mean for them their
gathering unto their Lord and Savior. While the hearts of un
believers will fail them for fear and for looking after those things
which are coming on earth; while they will cry out frantically
when the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens and
they will see Him come in the clouds with great power and glory;
while they will say to the mountains: "Fall on us," and to the
hills: "Cover us and hide us from the face of Him who sitteth
upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb," the believers
are to lift up their heads with joy, for their redemption draweth
nigh. Luke 21: 2 6; Matt. 24: 30; Luke 23: 30; Rev. 6: 16; Luke 21: 28.
The apostle continues in verse 3: "Let no man deceive you
by any means; for that day shall not come except there come a
falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition." The apostle's sincere concern for the Thessalonians
prompts him to repeat his admonition and at the same time to
show the urgent need of such warning exhortation. The claim
that the Day of the Lord has now come involves a very serious
and dangerous error into which they are to permit no one to
seduce, t
Ma'ttlO'[), them by any means, either in the manner in
dicated in v.2 or in any other way. It is a manifest deception,
an outright fraud, when anyone for any reason whatever says:
"The Day of the Lord is here." Two things must first, lCQW'tOV, come
to pass before the Last Day can dawn: there must have come the
great falling away, and the man of sin must have been revealed.
Paul is very definite in expressing himself; both times he uses
the definite article: "the falling away," "the man of sin," "the son
of perdition," so that we are compelled to conclude: from Paul's
oral teachings the readers knew what he meant by "falling away"
and "man of sin." Accordingly he says in v. 5: "Remember ye not,
that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" When
he speaks here of the falling away, the. apostasy which must first
occur before the Last Day comes, he does not mean any kind of
"falling however,
vigor
letter steadfastness
vision.
sin. would
well
expressions
see who is meant.
not expression all
Christ. counterpart
Christ, Thess.1: the
but
be so there will one Antichrist.
Antichrist presents course,
contrast) to Christ, just every
Antichrist,
,I
Eschatology in the Epistles to the Thessalonians 269
political rebellion, as, for example, the revolt of the Jews against
the Romans or some other upheaval in the Roman Empire, as
claimed by Tertullian and Jerome, but a religious revolt, a falling
away from God and from faith in Him. That is clear from the
expression he uses, which always has this sense in Scripture
(Acts 21: 21; 1 Tim. 4: 1; Heb. 3: 12). Moreover, the context com
pels us to accept that meaning, for immediately upon the word
"falling away" follows the expression "the man of sin," and in v. 7
the falling away is described as iniquity, literally "lawlessness."
The word away," WtOO,;a.OLa., Abfall, dare not be
regarded as an abstract designation of a person, as though the
Antichrist himself were meant; no, the word must be permitted
to retain its specific sense, a falling away from faith. This falling
away will then lead to a suspension of all divine order, will result
in iniquity, lawlessness, v.7. Although the Christian Church was
still in the prime of spiritual and strength, although Paul in
the first chapter of this very had praised the
and loyalty of the Thessalonians, vv. 3-5, yet the future of the
Church looms up dark and dreary before his
Combined with the great falling away will be the appearance
of the man of sin. That is clear from the close connection between
the two sentences. The falling away from faith will prepare the
way for the man of His appearance be impossible if
all were with the Church.
This man of sin is none other than the Roman Antichrist, the
Pope at Rome. Before, however, introducing evidence to that
effect, let us first examine closely the meaning of the
which tlie apostle uses. At the end of the entire section we shall
the more clearly However, even now it will
be amiss to use the Antichrist, since practically
ancient and modem commentators agree that the Antichrist is
meant when reference is made to the man of sin, even though
they differ widely in their views as to who that Antichrist is.
First the apostle uses the expression "The man of sin shall be
revealed," UrrO%a.AlJ