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In the late 1980s, Korean pastor Lee Jang-rim predicted that Christ would return on October 28, 1992. Thousands of his followers sold their houses in preparation. When the date passed uneventfully, some committed suicide. Lee was later imprisoned for stealing $4 million from his parishioners. A few years later, predictions of Christ's return abounded in anticipation of the Hale-Bopp comet in 1997. Nearly a century earlier, Charles Taze Russell, the founder of Jehovah's Witnesses, used intricate Bible studies to claim that Christ would return in 1910, which he later changed to 1914, and then again to 1929.
Since Christ's ascension, there's been no shortage of predictions of the year—or in some cases, the very hour—of His return. Today's passage cautions against such efforts. As we saw in yesterday's study, believers are to be encouraged by the certainty that the Lord is coming back for His own, even if all the details of that glorious event aren't as clear as we might wish.
Verse 1 indicates that Paul had taught about this before. There may have been some false teachers in Thessalonica who claimed that the day of the Lord had already taken place. Others were claiming that there wasn't anything to worry about, perhaps denying any final judgment, preaching “peace and safety.” The mention of the thief indicates that the day of the Lord is associated with judgment, just as it is in the Old Testament (see Amos 5:18-20 and Zeph. 1:14-18).
Many scholars believe that Christians will be raptured before the events described in this passage. Others claim that believers will be raptured either during or after these terrible events. But Scripture is clear that no one will be able to predict the exact time at which the Lord will return. Yesterday's passage shows that it will be a glorious event for believers; today's passage adds that it will be destruction for those who have rejected Him.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Concerning the Lord's return, we must be careful to avoid two extremes. The first is to become preoccupied with efforts to determine a precise time and date. The second is to think so little about this event that nothing in our daily lives is impacted. Consider for a moment what changes you would make in your life if the Lord were to return next week . . . or today. As we'll see tomorrow, wise believers live as if the Lord might return any day.
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