the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. καταβησεται απ' ουρανου, και δι νεκροι εν Χριςῳ αναζησον ται πρωτον and who are to inherit the kingdom of God, ver. 50. as indeed the whole of the reasoning in that chapter likewise clearly evinces.-Farther, though there shall be a resurrection both of the just and of the unjust, only they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever, Dan. xii. 3. So likewise our Lord tells us, Matth. xiii. 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their father. And, to name no more passages, in this discourse to the Thessalonians, the apostle speaks of none but of the dead in Christ, ver. 14. 16. and of them who are to be for ever with the Lord, ver. 17. See 1 Cor. xv. 18. note. But if the scripture hath no where said, or insinuated, that the wicked are to be raised with spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible bodies, what reason has any man to think, that they shall obtain bodies of that kind? In a matter of fact of this magnitude, and which depends entirely on revelation, to go one step farther than the scriptures, either by direct affirmation, or by necessary inference, warrant us to go, is certainly presumption. 2. There are in the scriptures, sentiments and expressions, which, by just construction, imply that the wicked shall not, at the coming of Christ, obtain glorious, immortal, and incorruptible bodies. For example, our Lord's words, Luke xx. 36. And are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection, plainly imply, that they who are not the children of God, are not the children of the resurrection, in the same manner that the children of God are. So also, the glory to be revealed in us, being termed, Rom. viii. 19. The manifestation of the sons of God; the expression certainly implies, that that glory is not to be revealed in them who are not the sons of God.— And to teach us what that glory is, by which the sons of God are to be distinguished from the wicked, deliverance from the bondage of corruption is called, Rom. viii. 21. The freedom of the glory of the children of God. And the redemption of the body from the bondage of corruption, is styled, ver. 23. the adoption, or method by which sonship to God is constituted. Allowing then, that the manifestation and adoption of the sons of God, at the resurrection, will be accomplished by the redemption of their body from corruption, and by the glory that is then to be revealed on them, it implies, that while the righteous on that occasion shall be shewed to be the sons of God, by obtaining glorious, incorruptible, and immortal bodies, the wicked, at the resurrection, by appearing in fleshly, corruptible, mortal bodies, like those in which they died, shall be shewed not to be the sons of God. The truth is, to suppose that the wicked shall arise with the same kind of body as the righteous, is to suppose that they are the children of the resurrection, equally with the sons of God, contrary to our Lord's assertion. Nay, it is gel, and with the trumpet of God:4 and the dead (E) in Christ shall rise first.5 to reward his servants and to punish his enemies; and, with the voice of an archangel, proclaiming his advent; and with a great trumpet, calling the dead from their graves and the dead in Christ shall rise first. to suppose, that there shall be no manifestation, or discrimination of the sons of God at the resurrection, contrary to the doctrine of the apostle Paul. Here a thought of great importance occurs. May not the manifestation of the sons of God, by the glory to be revealed in their body, imply, that the discrimination of the righteous from the wicked, at the general judgment, is to be made, not by any formal inquiry into the character and actions of each individual, which would render the day of judgment much longer than the whole duration of the world many times repeated; but by the kind of body in which each shall appear. So that the true character of every man, being thus clearly manifested by the power of the judge, under the direction of his omniscience, the whole process of the judgment will be completed at once, by the sentences which he will pronounce on men, according to their true characters thus manifested. men, 3. To prove that the righteous, whom he calls, 1 Cor. xv. 48. heavenly shall obtain heavenly, that is, incorruptible and immortal bodies, St. Paul says, ver. 50. This I affirm, brethren, namely, that we shall bear the image of the heavenly man, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption. But if the righteous are to obtain incorruptible bodies, that they may be capable of inheriting the kingdom of God, as I think is plainly intimated in this passage, we may conclude that the wicked, none of whom shall ever inherit the kingdom of God, are not to obtain such bodies. For why should they be fitted for enjoying a happiness which they are never to possess? Besides, the glorious and immortal body of the righteous, being itself a part of their inheritance as the sons of God, we cannot suppose that the wicked shall obtain that, or any share whatever of the portion which belongs to them. 4. After the judgment, the righteous are to be caught up in clouds, to join the Lord in the air, in order to the their going with him into heaven, 1 Thess. iv. 17. But the wicked, not being caught up, will in all probability remain on the earth. Wherefore, as the earth is to be burnt with fire, the wicked left thereon must, after the judgment, perish in the general conflagration. Accordingly, our apostle, speaking of the punishment of the wicked, says expressly, 2 Thess. i. 7. The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from beaven with the angels of his power, 8. Inflicting punishment with flaming fire on them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Christ. 9. They shall suffer punishment, even everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.-In like manner 17 Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 17 Επειτα ήμεις οι ζωντες δι περιλειπόμενοι, ἅμα συν αυτοις ἁρπαγησόμεθα εν νεφαλαις εις απαντησιν του Κυριου εις αερα και ουτω παντοτε συν Κυρίῳ εσομεθα. the apostle John, speaking of the wicked after the judgment, says, Rev. xxi. 8. They shall have their portion in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. But if the wicked are to die a second time, by the destruction of their body, in the burning of the earth which is to take place immediately after the judgment, why should the power of God be exerted in raising them with spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible bodies, like those of the sons of God, or in changing such of them as are alive at the coming of Christ? seeing they are so soon to lose their bodies in the general conflagration. 5. There appears a great propriety in Christ's raising the wicked with fleshly mortal bodies, like those in which they died. For, as in the present life, the wicked make the body the sole object of their care, and place their whole happiness in bodily pleasures, fit it is, that they be exposed to shame and contempt, by being brought before the judgment-seat of Christ, in that fleshly, corruptible, mortal body, which they so much idolized. Fit also, that they be tormented with envy, by beholding the righteous in their immortal bodies, shining as the brightness of the firmament, and ready to go away into the kingdom of their Father. More than this, seeing the wicked, while on earth, placed their affections and cares wholly on their body, and on earthly things; and for the sake of enjoying earthly things, despised heaven and its felicities; what more proper than to punish them, by destroying their body along with the earth, and the things thereon, to which they so closely attached themselves? 6. The doctrine I am endeavouring to establish is favoured by the vulgate version of 1 Cor. xv. 51. Omnes quidem resurgemus, sed non omnes immutabimur: We shall all indeed arise; but we shall not all be changed: namely, by receiving immortal and incorruptible bodies. I own this is not the genuine reading of the Greek text. But I produce it here, only to shew what opinion some of the ancients entertained of the resurrection body of the wicked. Ver. 17.-1. Afterwards, we the living, who remain, shall together with them be caught up. Eлura, does not imply, that the righteous are to be caught up, immediately after the dead in Christ are raised: but simply, that they shall be caught up after that event, without determining how long after it. Between the resurrection of the righteous, and their being caught up, the living are to be changed, as is implied in their not anticipating them who are asleep. Also the wicked are to be raised, after the change has passed 17 (ET) Afterwards,1 we the living who remain, shall (¿ux ovv) at the same time, with them be caught up3 in clouds, to join the Lord in the air: and so we shall be for ever with the Lord. 17 After the righteous are raised, we, the people of Christ, who are living on the earth at his coming, being changed, shall at the same time with them who are raised from the dead, be caught up in clouds, to join the Lord in the air, that we may all accompany him in his return to heaven. And so, we shall be for ever with the Lord: on the living. For as the apostle tells us, 1 Cor. xv. 23. Every man is to be raised in his proper band. Add, that before the righteous are caught up, or at least before they go away with Christ, they must receive their sentence of acquittal. All these circumstances, though not taken notice of in this place, are fully declared by the apostle elsewhere. See 1 Thess. v. 3. note 2. 2. Aua, is an adverb of time, ius, of place. 3. Caught up. "Ag@agnoqueda. Dr. Scott (Christ. Life, vol. iii. p. 1204.) thinks this shall be effected by the activity of the glorified bodies of the righteous, and not by the ministry of angels. But his opinion is contradicted by the import of the original word paraynoqueda, which, as the critics observe, denotes an external force. After the judgment, all the righteous, both those who are raised from the dead, and those who are changed, shall be caught up in the air, in clouds, as Christ himself was when he left this earth.-Or, the meaning may be, they shall be caught up in clusters, by the ministry of the attending angels, to join and accompany the Lord in his return to heaven. On the other hand, the wicked not being caught up, must remain on the earth; both those who were alive at the coming of the Lord, and those who were raised from the dead. And as the earth is to be burnt with fire, they shall not escape, but shall perish in the general conflagration. 4. In clouds. In scripture, multitudes of angels are called clouds, Matth. xxiv. 30. Wherefore caught up in clouds, may signify, caught up by the ministry of angels. Clouds likewise signify great multitudes of people, Heb. xii. 1. According to this sense, the meaning will be, caught up in great numbers at once. 5. To join the Lord in the air. Εις απαντησιν κυριε εις αέρα. One of the senses of awarraw is, me offero, me confero. Scapula. This meaning the word hath here, because it is not the beginning, but the conclusion of the judgment, which is described in this clause. Accordingly, our joining the Lord in the air, is called, 2 Thess. ii. 1. Our gathering together around him. From this verse it appears, that at the judgment Christ will fix his seat in the air. 6. And so we shall be for ever with the Lord. Here the apostle plainly refers to our Lord's promise, John xiv. 2. I go to prepare a place for you. 18 Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. 18 Ωςε παρακαλείτε αλληλους εν τοις λόγοις τούτοις. 3. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. See also John xvii. 24. From the doctrine taught in this verse, Whitby infers, that the souls of the faithful were not with the Lord before the resurrection. CHAPTER V. View and Illustration of the Matters contained in this Chapter. THE apostle, after describing the coming of Christ to raise the dead, and carry the righteous with him into heaven, does not quit the subject of Christ's return; but proceeds, in this chapter, to foretell the terror which his appearing will occasion to the wicked, and the punishment which he will then inflict on them. This circumstance merits the reader's attention, because it proves, that in describing Christ's return to the earth, the apostle had some farther view, besides that of comforting the Thessalonians under the death of their relations. For if this had been his only purpose, nothing more was necessary but to tell them, that if they believed Jesus died and rose again, so also them who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Wherefore, since in the preceding chapter, he not only mentions the resurrection and departure of the righteous into heaven, but enters into a particular description of the circumstances of Christ's coming to judgment, by which his power and greatness, as the Son of God and governor of the world, will be manifested; also, since in this chapter he goes on to foretell the terror which Christ's return will occasion to the wicked, and the punishment which he will inflict on them; it seems to me plain, that his chief design in all this was to shew, that by committing the judgment of the world to Christ, the Father hath confirmed his Son's gospel, and hath authorized him to punish all who do not obey it; as the apostle also expressly affirms, 2 Thess. i. 8, 9. To the authority, however, of Christ as judge, and to the argument for the divine original of the gospel founded thereon, it may be objected, that we have no evidence thereof, excepting the apostle's prophecy, and Christ's own prediction, that he will return as judge. I therefore reply, that although, in ordinary |
