"For you yourselves know perfectly that the
day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."
1 Thessalonians 5:2
When the apostle Paul planted a church in Thessalonica,
he had little time to establish the new believers in their faith.
In Acts 17:2, he was driven from town by a persecuting mob
after two or three weeks of teaching. But, evidently Paul left
the Thessalonians with deep belief in our Lord’s
return. They
were so eager to learn more about the Second Coming that
Paul wrote two letters for them, 1 and 2
Thessalonians, to
answer questions and stoking their anticipation for
the
Lord’s soon appearing in the clouds of glory.
Those letters are for us also. They're full of
information about the Rapture of the Church,
resurrection of the dead, and return of Christ.
Imagine how excited those early believers were to
receive Paul’s letters and soak in his teaching.
We,
too, should eagerly digest every word in
Scripture
about our Lord’s promised return, to better anticipate
the moment of His coming for us. How differently
we
would live if, like the Thessalonians, our hearts
were
seized with anticipation for that glorious day!
"I am waiting for the coming of the Lord who
died for me; / Oh, His words have thrilled
my spirit, “I will come again for thee.”
S. Trevor Francis, hymnist
