1 Tesalonicenses 1:10

They were also awaiting the return of God’s Son "out of the heavens" (Gr. ek ton ouranon). This is the only place in 1 and 2 Thessalonians where Paul called Jesus God’s Son. Their action was the evidence of their hope (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Jesus’ resurrection is indisputable proof of His deity and the prerequisite to His return.

"To the extent that the Thessalonians accepted the resurrection as an act of God, it would give them confidence in the prospect of Christ’s coming in power." [Note: Ibid., p. 87.]

"Believers live anticipating a coronation (2 Timothy 4:8) rather than a condemnation." [Note: Martin, p. 66.]

"Wrath is the holy revulsion of God’s being against that which is the contradiction of his holiness." [Note: John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans , 1:35.]

When Paul spoke of "the wrath to come" did he have in mind the general outpouring of God’s wrath on unbelievers in eternal damnation? Or did he mean a specific instance of God outpouring His wrath at a particular time in history yet future? The commentators, regardless of their eschatological positions, take both positions on this question. For example, some amillennialists believe Paul was speaking generally. [Note: E.g., William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of I and II Thessalonians, p. 57.] However other amillennialists believe Paul referred to a specific event, namely, the judgment associated with the second coming of Christ. [Note: E.g., Morris, The Epistles . . ., pp. 40-41, and idem, The First . . ., p. 64.] In the amillennial scheme of things this judgment will end the present age. Premillennialists also disagree with one another on this point. For example, some take Paul’s words as a general reference. [Note: E.g., John F. Walvoord, The Thessalonian Epistles, p. 17; and David A. Hubbard, "The First Epistle to the Thessalonians," in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1350, who was a premillennial posttribulationist.] Others believe Paul had in mind the Tribulation, which for a pretribulationist is the next great outpouring of God’s wrath in history. [Note: E.g., D. Edmond Hiebert, The Thessalonian Epistles, p. 71.]

If this was the only reference to "the wrath to come" in this epistle, we might conclude that Paul was probably referring to the outpouring of God’s wrath on unbelievers generally. There is no specific reference to a particular judgment here. However, later he spent considerable space writing about the outpouring of God’s wrath in the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). Therefore it seems to me that this is the first reference to that outpouring of wrath in the epistle (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). The biblical revelation about the relationship of church saints to the wrath of God strongly implies a pretribulation rapture of the church. [Note: See Renald E. Showers, Maranatha: Our Lord, Come! A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church, pp. 192-222; and Gerald B. Stanton, Kept from the Hour, pp. 25-50.]

". . . the choice of erchomene [’come’] rather than mellousa [’come’] . . . may have been determined by the fact that Paul purposes to express not so much the certainty . . . as the nearness of the judgment. Nearness involves certainty but certainty does not necessarily involve nearness." [Note: James E. Frame, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, p. 89.]

The outpouring of God’s wrath occurs at many times in history. One of these judgments is the Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14) that will come upon the whole earth in the future (Revelation 3:10). Another is the great white throne judgment at the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:11-15).

"Used technically, as it so frequently is in the NT, ’wrath’ (orges) is a title for the period just before Messiah’s kingdom on earth, when God will afflict earth’s inhabitants with an unparalleled series of physical torments because of their rejection of His will [i.e., the Tribulation] (Matthew 3:7; Matthew 24:21; Luke 21:23; Revelation 6:16-17)." [Note: Thomas, p. 248.]

The Greek preposition ek, translated "from," can mean either "away from" or "out of." Other passages teach that believers will not experience any of God’s wrath (e.g., John 3:36; John 5:24; Romans 5:1; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:34; et al.). Consequently "away from" seems to be the idea Paul intended here. [Note: See Daniel B. Wallace, "A Textual Problem in 1 Thessalonians 1:10: ’Ek tes ’Orges vs ’Apo tes ’Orges," Bibliotheca Sacra 147:588 (October-December 1990):470-79.]

How will God keep believers "away from" His wrath as He pours it out during the Tribulation? Pretribulationists say He will do so by taking us to heaven before the Tribulation begins. [Note: John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question, p. 72. Cf. Revelation 3:10.] Midtribulationists say we will enter the Tribulation, but God will take us to heaven before the outpouring of His wrath that will occur only during the second half of the Tribulation. [Note: Harold John Ockenga, "Will the Church Go Through the Tribulation? Yes," Christian Life (February 1955), pp. 22, 66.] Posttribulationists believe we will go through the entire Tribulation and God will protect us from the outpouring of His wrath during that time. [Note: George E. Ladd, The Blessed Hope, p. 121-22; J. Barton Payne, The Imminent Appearing of Christ, p. 143; Arthur D. Katterjohn, The Tribulation People, p. 98; William R. Kimball, The Rapture: A Question of Timing, p. 70; and Alexander Reese, The Approaching Advent of Christ, p. 226.] 1 Thessalonians 1:10 does not state exactly how God will deliver us "away from" His wrath when He will pour it out in the Tribulation. Other passages in 1 Thessalonians, however, point to a pretribulational deliverance (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-10).

Preservation from the wrath of God is part of the believer’s hope. This chapter, like all the others in this epistle, closes with a reference to Jesus Christ’s return (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

"That attitude of expectation is the bloom, as it were, of the Christian character. Without it there is something lacking; the Christian who does not look upward and onward wants one mark of perfection." [Note: James Denney, The Epistles to the Thessalonians, p. 59.]

"To wait for him has ethical implications; those who wait are bound to live holy lives so as to be ready to meet him (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:23)." [Note: Bruce, p. 19.]

"In 1 Thessalonians 1:10 the Thessalonian believers are pictured as waiting for the return of Christ. The clear implication is that they had a hope of His imminent return. If they had been taught that the great tribulation, in whole or in part, must first run its course, it is difficult to see how they could be described as expectantly awaiting Christ’s return. Then they should rather have been described as bracing themselves for the great tribulation and the painful events connected with it." [Note: Hiebert, p. 205. Cf. Bruce, p. 18; Stanton, pp. 108-37; Wayne A. Brindle, "Biblical Evidence for the Imminence of the Rapture," Bibliotheca Sacra 158:630 (April-June 2001):142-44. ]

Imminent means likely, not certain, to happen without delay: impending. Other passages that teach the imminency of the Lord’s return include 1 Corinthians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Corinthians 16:22; Philippians 3:20; Philippians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2; Titus 2:13; James 5:7-9; 1 John 2:28; and Revelation 3:11; Revelation 22:7; Revelation 22:12; Revelation 22:17; Revelation 22:20. [Note: See Earl D. Radmacher, "The Imminent Return of the Lord," in Issues in Dispensationalism, pp. 247-67; and Showers, pp. 127-53.]