We are continuing our study of 1 Thessalonians this morning. We’ll be looking at the last two verses in chapter 1. We saw last week that this body of believers was very committed to Christ, and they were abiding in Christ and having an impact on the world in which they lived. Look again at what Paul said about them.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 ESV
These believers were imitators of the Apostles and the Lord Yeshua, and they were an example to all believers. This is the only verse in the New Testament where a congregation is viewed as a model for other churches. This was an exceptional church. Please remember that they are less than a year old in the Lord, and they are modeling Christ to the world in which they live.
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 1 Thessalonians 1:8 ESV
This verse is an explanation of how the Thessalonians became examples to such a large area. No doubt the wide circulation of their faith was facilitated by Thessalonica's possession of a significant Mediterranean seaport and by its location on the Egnatian Highway, the main road from Rome to the eastern part of the empire.
For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Yeshua who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 ESV
I think that what we see in these verses corresponds to the three things that he mentioned in verse three:
remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Yeshua the Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 ESV
Turning to God from idols shows their faith, serving God reflects their love, and waiting for Yeshua to return reveals their hope.
For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 1 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV
"For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you"—the "they" refers to those in Macedonia and Achaia who heard the gospel from the Thessalonians (v. 8). These people now report to Paul about what kind of "entrance" the apostolic team had in Thessalonica. So, by "they themselves" he is saying that people everywhere are telling us about you, they're telling us what kind of a reception we had with you.
The term translated reception is from the Greek word eisodos which can mean the act of entering a place, or even the place through which one enters, the entrance. The same word is found in 2:1.
For you yourselves know, brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. 1 Thessalonians 2:1 ESV
The word is "coming" (eisodos), and here it clearly speaks of the Apostles’ reception into the city. As a matter of fact, the "reception" of the Apostles is the principal theme of 2:1–12. So, we should understand it the same way in 1:9. These "they themselves" are the ones who heard the story from the Thessalonians and who now retell it to Paul.
"The kind of reception we had among you"—both the words "reception" and the past tense verb, "we had" (an aorist indicative pointing to a historic fact) refer to the original preaching and reception of the gospel message.
"And how you turned to God from idols"—the word "turned" here is epistrephō, which according to Thayer means "to turn to, to the worship of the true God." Many see this as referring to conversion, and there are some verses where it may be used in that way. But I understand it here as a post conversion act.
And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. Acts 11:21 ESV
We see that those who believed, turned to the Lord. "Believed" here is an Active Aorist Participle. The AORIST participle often refers to action PRIOR to another verb.
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:31-32 ESV
The Lord tells Peter "when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." And Peter did just that. He turned from his denial and after Pentecost became a rock for the Lord. He preached that great Pentecost sermon and after that a lot of sermons in the city of Jerusalem.
My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. James 5:19-20 ESV
Here epistrephō is used of a believer turning back to the truth. The meaning of the verb "sozo" is clear. It refers to preservation of the physical life from death. The Greek expression "sozin ten psuche" is a standard and normal way of saying "to save the life."
Believers, we all have times in our lives when we need to turn from sin back to God. This should be obvious. Turning to God is something that should be ongoing in our lives. Sin is just plain ugly, through and through. It breaks the heart of God, and it ruins the lives of people. If you fail to turn from sin in your life, it will ultimately destroy you. And it's not so much a question of God’s "punishing" you for your sins but rather of sin’s bringing about its own punishment. When a parent tells a child not to touch a hot stove, and the child disobeys and does it anyway, what happens? The child gets burned. Who burned the child? An angry, vindictive parent? No, the hot stove burned the child. The loving parent tried to encourage the child not to touch the stove in the first place. We need to repent because to live in sin is to bring great harm upon ourselves.
These new believers at Thessalonica turned to God and from idols. When the Christian faith arrived in the cities and towns of the empire, its presence was rightly perceived as an attack on the images of the gods.
And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship." When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Acts 19:22-28 ESV
The Thessalonians worshiped a variety of gods. Some were traditional and others were imports from Samothrace, Egypt, and Rome. "Atheists" were a very rare breed during this era. In Greece, they had many idols that deified all of the emotions of man. There was the god of love, the god of hate, the god of fear, the god of peace, the god of joy, etc. They deified everything. They worshipped Aphrodite, they worshipped Narcissus, they worshiped Bacus, they worshiped Zeus, and all the various idols.
But these new Christians had turned from the idols to worship the true and the living God. Most likely, their abandonment of idols, including the imperial cult, was the root cause of the social tension between the Christians and their contemporaries (2:14).
Commenting on this verse one commentator wrote that "The implication of this verse is that the converts to the faith in Thessalonica were not Jewish but Gentile, or at least that the vast majority of the church was Gentile."
Because they turned from idols does that mean that they were Gentiles? It could, but did not the Jews also have a problem with idolatry?
"Therefore, say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. Ezekiel 14:6 ESV
This could also refer to Israelites turning from idols.
Commenting on our text, Bob Deffinbaugh writes: "Notice from these words how the Thessalonian saints manifested divine election. They turned to God from the idols they had formerly worshipped." He is seeing people’s works as a proof that they are saved. As we said last week, the evidence of election and salvation is faith, not works.
Spurgeon wrote, "Conversion is the turning of a man completely round, to hate what he loved and to love what he hated."
When you became a Christian, did you all of a sudden hate what you loved? I didn’t. It took time, and some things we are all still working on. Some believers require more time than others.
Let me ask you a question. Can a Christian serve idols? What if the Thessalonians had not turned from idols, would they still be Christians?
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21 ESV
"Little children" is synonymous with believers. John is clearly telling believers to keep themselves from idols. Why would John tell his readers that if were not possible for a believer to worship an idol?
When you think of an idol or idol worship, what do you think of? You may think of somebody in a mud hut with a little god on his table that he bows down to. Or you may think of a pagan temple that is very elaborate and ornate with a lot of people burning incense. But idolatry is much broader than that. Idolatry is simply thinking something about God that is untrue of Him. It is postulating anything about God that is not right. In its fullest stage, it is creating a god. In its secondary stage, it is making God into something that He is not. And maybe in its third level (something even Christians are guilty of), it is thinking thoughts about God that are untrue of Him.
These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. Psalms 50:21 ESV
God says, "You thought I was like you." And that's precisely what men have done. They have made God into their own likeness and into imaginations that belong to their own minds. The essence of idolatry is entertaining thoughts about God that are unworthy of God. And it can come in a lot of forms.
If we look at the context of 1 John 5:21 we see in verse 20 that John has just mentioned that Yeshua is the true God. This undoubtedly brought to his mind the false god of the heretics. They denied the God of the Bible. They said that "the Christ" came upon the man Yeshua at His baptism and left just prior to His crucifixion. But they did not believe that He was eternal God in human flesh.
I think that John is telling his readers that if they have a substandard view and understanding of Yeshua the Christ, the Son of God, it is idolatry! Anything that is short of Yeshua the Christ revealed as God is idolatry.
John has spent almost the entire letter discussing in one form or another the opponents with their false teaching who are troubling the Christian community he is writing to. It’s not surprising to find him referring to them here. He is using a metonymy, a figure of speech that employs the use of a substitution for the thing meant. The secessionist opponents themselves are put in place of the course of idolatry that they pursue. There is significant background in the Qumran literature for such usage; CD 20:8-10 speaks of "those who reject [the precepts] and set up idols in their hearts and walk in the stubbornness of their hearts; they shall have no share in the house of the Law."
1QS 2:11-17 states, "Cursed be the man who enters this covenant while walking among the idols of his heart, who sets up before himself his stumbling-block of sin so that he may backslide!"
Believer an idol can be anything that usurps the rightful place of the living and true God in your life. At the root of all idolatry is the god of self. The Thessalonians did not just add Yeshua to their existing shelf full of idols. They trashed their idols and turned to the living and true God alone. This demonstrated that they were disciples of Yeshua and were abiding in Him.
They had turned from idols "To serve the living and true God." The word "serve" here is from the Greek word douleuō. This is a present infinitive which proclaims that they turned from idols and continued to serve the true, living God. The word means "to be a slave, to serve, or to do service." The word is often used of nations that are in subjection to other nations.
A slave belonged to his master who had bought him. He lived to do his master’s will. We are not our own because we’ve been bought with the precious blood of Yeshua. We’re His slaves.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
John MacArthur writes, "Beloved, it's so simple to say to you this: Nobody ever comes to Jesus Christ who does not immediately engage himself as a slave of God, whose basic reason for living is obedience and submission."
So, do all believers immediately becomes slaves to God living in obedience to him? Did you? I don’t think so. But we are all called to.
Here Paul calls Yeshua, "the living and true God"—where does this title come from? Let’s look what Jeremiah has to say about idolatry.
Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good." There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus, shall you say to them: "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens." Jeremiah 10:1-11 ESV
Here Jeremiah describes God as "living" and "true" in contrast to idols. God is the supreme deity, the true deity. All other gods will perish.
I think that the title, "living and true God" reflects God's covenantal name, YHWH.
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" Exodus 3:14 ESV
"I AM WHO I AM" is the Hebrew, "Ehyeh; asher ehyeh" and means: "I am that which exist." The root of Ehyeh is hiya which means "to be" or "I exist." So here Elohim tells Moses His name is Ehyeh. But look at the next verse.
God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Exodus 3:15 ESV
Elohim again gives His name to Moses, but this time it is Yahweh. The two names, Ehyeh and Yahweh, are related. Ehyeh is and Yahweh is. Ehyeh means "I exist, I will exist, I am." Yahweh includes the verb hava, meaning "to exist, "and the letter yod as a prefix, meaning "He.' So, Yahweh means "He exists." If it is a causative verb, it would mean "He causes to exist." Both are true. Yahweh is the self-existent One who causes to exist. He is the living and true God.
The nature of God as living and true is brought out in the Greek text by the absence of the Greek article with the adjectives, "living and true." This anarthrous construction lays stress on the quality and nature of God as one who is living and true in contrast to man’s various idols, which are lifeless, false, and useless.
How do we serve the living and true God? I believe that we can gauge how we are growing in our walk with the Lord by our willingness to serve those around us who can give nothing in return, those who have hurt us in the past, and those whom we think are undeserving of our time and energy. This is beyond our ability. This type of love and sacrifice does not come naturally. When someone hurts us, says bad things about us, or breaks our hearts, our automatic reaction is to strike back. When somebody is a taker, a user, and a manipulator, our automatic response is to run from him and never give him the time of day. But we serve the living and true God by loving others.
Let’s move on to the final verse in this chapter.
and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Yeshua who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV
This verse is eschatological. It is referring to the second coming of Christ at the end of the age. Leon Morris states that the second coming is mentioned an average of every 13 verses from Matthew to Revelation. It’s not a minor doctrine!" [The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians [Eerdmans], p. 64]
Paul emphasized the Second Coming of Christ in this letter. Every chapter ends on this subject (cf. 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:23). The Thessalonians were confused about what would happen to their brothers who died before the Lord’s coming (4:13–18), and they had questions concerning the time of the coming of the day of the Lord (5:1–11), which was tied with his coming (2 Thess. 2:1–2). They became greatly shaken by a false teaching regarding the fact that the day of the Lord already happened (2 Thess. 2:1–12). Let’s look at the text.
"And to wait for his Son from heaven"—this is clearly a reference to the second coming of Christ at the end of the age. Nobody argues with or questions that. So, the Thessalonians were waiting for Yeshua to come from heaven at his second coming. Why? If the Lord has not yet returned, as the majority of the church believes, over 2,000 years later, why were they waiting on Him in the first century? Would you wait for something that you would never experience?
Let’s talk about the word "wait." Wait is from the Greek word anameno. It is found only here in the New Testament, but it occurs four times in the Septuagint. Anameno is from ana, which means "upon." Vines says it intensifies the meaning of meno ("abide or remain"). It conveys the meaning of expectant waiting—sustained, patient, trusting waiting. It pictures an eager looking forward to the coming of one whose arrival was anticipated at any time, waiting for one whose coming is expected. BDAG says it means "to wait for, expect someone or something." You wouldn’t wait for something that you didn’t expect to happen.
In the Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary Gilbrant states that In classical Greek, anamenō means "waiting or staying in wait." The word carries the sense of anticipation of an impending event. One such example is the use of anamenō in describing an army waiting for the enemy to attack. Anamenō is also used to mean delay or putting off. The Septuagint uses anamenō to translate qāwâh with the primary meaning of "waiting with expectancy": a hired man is described as "waiting" for his wages (Job 7:2).
Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, Job 7:2 ESV
Israel is said to "look" for justice (Isaiah 59:11), while Judah is said to be "hoping" for light (Jeremiah 13:16). In the last instance the "hope" referred to is an active waiting. [Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary]
In an extra-biblical writing (2 Clement 19:4) anemeno is used figuratively of time in the phrase "a blessed time awaits (the devout)." In another use it describes debtors who are to pay up without "waiting for" the time allowed them.
So, anemeno means "to remain in a place and/or a state of mind, with expectancy concerning a future event—to await, to wait for." Think of a parent who, in anticipation of a son or daughter’s arrival, waits up eagerly and expectantly. Anameno means to expect with the added notion of waiting patiently and confidently, but not necessarily in a passive way.
Anemeno is in the present tense and can be rendered "keep on waiting." Waiting for the return of their Lord was their lifestyle, the habit of their life, the truth that colored all their daily activities and afflictions. To the first-century believers the advent of Christ was not regarded as a distant possibility but as an imminent certainty!
I think that the fact that the first-century believers in Thessalonica were waiting for Christ’s coming from heaven tells us that they expected to see it in their lifetime. Why look for something you will never see? Other verses in this letter imply that they expected this coming during their lifetime.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:15 ESV
Do you remember when I said this letter was written? It was written in A.D. 50/51. So, the immanent coming of the Lord was 19 to 20 years away at the time of the writing. During this time some of them would die, but some would be alive at the coming.
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 ESV
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 ESV
So, the first-century Thessalonian believers looked for the second coming in their lifetime. They expected to see it. Why? Where did they get this idea? They must have been taught this by Paul and Timothy. And they most likely got it from their Lord Yeshua.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:27-28 ESV
Verse 27 clearly speaks of the second coming. His disciples didn't know He was leaving, but they looked for a time when He would appear in full glory and power, bringing in the Kingdom and rewarding every man. Now some say he is talking about the transfiguration of Matthew 17:2, but that is only six days later. None of them had died in that six-day period. Did he come in the glory of His Father with His angels and reward each according to his works at the transfiguration? Of course not! How about Pentecost? No! It was only two months later, and all except Judas were still alive. But it does refer to His Second Coming as can be seen from Revelation 22:12.
"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. Revelation 22:12 ESV
Compare that with Matthew 16:27. He comes with the angels to reward every man. Look at the next verse. "I say to YOU, there are some standing HERE who will not taste death until THEY see the Son of Man, coming in His kingdom." Who are the "YOU" of this verse? Verse 24 tells us that Yeshua is speaking to his disciples.
Then Yeshua told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 ESV
Yeshua is saying to his disciples, who were standing there, that some of them would still be alive when He returned in the second coming (40 years away).
What are the possible explanations for this verse? I see only three. First, there are still some of the disciples alive today. Second, Yeshua was confused or lying. Third, Yeshua actually did what he said and came in the lifetime of his disciples. This is really our only sensible choice. This seems like the simple and clear answer that holds to the inspiration of Scripture. Yeshua did what he said he would do. Yeshua also said the following:
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matthew 24:34 ESV
Yeshua very plainly and very clearly tells His disciples that ALL of the things He had mentioned would come to pass in THEIR GENERATION. If you study the context, you will see that this includes the preaching of the Gospel in all the world, the abomination of desolation, the great tribulation, and the Second Coming of Christ. This is so clear that it greatly troubles those who hold to a futuristic eschatology.
Clearly, Yeshua taught that his Parousia would happen in that generation, within a 40-year period. He taught that some of his disciples would still be alive. Paul taught the Thessalonians that some of them would live to see it. It was now only 20 years away. Paul taught all the churches that Christ would return in their lifetime.
so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Yeshua the Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV
The word "wait" here is from the Greek word apekdechomai. This Greek word is made up of three words—(1) the word "to receive," which speaks of a welcoming or appropriating reception such as is tendered to a friend who comes to visit, (2) the word "off," speaking here of the withdrawal of one's attention from other objects, and (3) the word "out," used here in a perfective sense which intensifies the already existing meaning of the word. The composite word speaks of an attitude of intense yearning and eager waiting for the coming of the Lord.
This Greek word is only used eight times in the New Testament and seven of them are in reference to the second coming. Apekdechomai is used three times in Romans 8.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:19 ESV
Who the "sons of God" were would be revealed when the Lord returned, destroying Jerusalem and making it manifest that the Christians were His "sons."
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23 ESV
Many don’t understand this but redemption was tied with the second coming.
And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:27-28 ESV
The "these things" in the context of this verse is the destruction of Jerusalem. Redemption was complete when the Lord returned, destroying Jerusalem and ending the Old Covenant.
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:25 ESV
The context of all of these verses in Romans 8 is that of the second coming.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. Galatians 5:5 ESV
If righteousness was already a fulfilled or completed event, Paul made a big mistake in making "righteousness" by faith a matter of hope. If righteousness was a present reality, why would Paul hope for it? This is the "already but not yet" of righteousness. Righteousness was to be a reality at the second coming. That is why Paul uses the verb apekdechomai here.
so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 ESV
Notice in this verse in Hebrews that when Christ appears the SECOND time, it is for SALVATION. So, the Lord whom they "eagerly waited" for was to bring to them righteousness at the parousia.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Christ, Philippians 3:20 ESV
Who is the "WE" here? Who was eagerly waiting for the Lord? Whom was Paul writing to? He was writing to Philippian Christians who lived in the first century. It was these first-century saints who were "awaiting" the second coming. Why did they think he would come in their lifetime? Because Paul taught this to all the churches.
John also taught an imminent Parousia.
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 1 John 2:28 ESV
He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Yeshua! Revelation 22:20 ESV
James also taught an imminent Parousia.
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7-8 ESV
Peter also taught an imminent Parousia.
waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 2 Peter 3:12 ESV
Waiting here is prosdokaō which means "to anticipate; by implication to await: - expect."
The return of Yeshua is mentioned in every one of the New Testament books except for Galatians (where it is alluded to) and the very short books of second and third John and Philemon. The return of Christ is a major theme of the New Testament. As you study this theme of the return of Christ, you will find that the first-century church expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. They thought this because Yeshua taught a first- century Parousia, and so did all the New Testament authors.
So why does the majority of churchianity today reject a first-century coming of Christ. Why can’t they see this? I think it is because they look for a physical coming of Christ. Just like the Jews missed the first coming of Christ because they were looking for a physical deliverer so has the church missed the second coming. More on this next week.