Is Second Thessalonians One a pretrib problem? Some think so. It depends on what assumptions we bring to the text. Despite the confidence people have in their positions, all rapture timing views have difficult areas. So we should humbly avoid dogmatism.
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for our testimony to you was believed. 2 Thess 1:6-10
The 2 Thess 1 verses are seen by posttribbers and amillennialists as a dilemma for pretribulationism. I didn’t realize it was a problem until I came across a 2001 13 page response by Mike Stallard several years ago. More recently the issue has been highlighted by several proponents of the prewrath rapture view.
The problem may be stated as follows: The affliction Paul is referring to is persecution, so the relief presumably occurs when the Lord is revealed in heaven with His mighty angels. Christ is revealed in Matt 24:30-31, therefore that is when believers will receive “relief” and persecutors judged. Hence, God’s wrath hasn’t been present before that moment, and neither has the rapture of the church.
Pretribbers sometimes respond that: 1) Paul didn’t refer to the rapture in those verses and 2) he was emphasizing a future retribution of the persecutors, while prophetically compressing these events. I agree with both concepts (e.g., Richard Mayhue “Christ’s Prophetic Plans” Isaiah 61:1-2; 2 Peter 3:10-11, page 101). See also Mayhue’s Commentary “1 & 2 Thessalonians“.
While I agree that Paul didn’t directly mention the rapture, the substance of this relief is usually deduced to be the rapture at Christ’s return with his angels in judgment. Moreover, while prophetic compression is admitted some (posttribbers and prewrath rapturists) will say chronology is present – i.e., relief and retribution coincide with Christ’s appearance with the angels (Matt 24:30-31).
We all bring assumptions to prophetic texts. I assume premillennialism is correct for reasons not elaborated on here. Amillennialists assume no millennium and intra-tribulationism; hence posttrib. They’ll point to verses such as Dan 12:2 and John 5: 28-29 to affirm that the two resurrections are coincident.
Premils note the “compression” factor and point to Rev 20:4-5 as passages which clearly place one thousand years between the resurrections. Amils insist that Rev 20 is a recap of Rev 19. Thus we see that “comparing Scripture with Scripture” doesn’t necessarily resolve differences.
The prewrath view also adopts prophetic compression, and is flexible in its chronology. It combines up to four different future arrivals of Christ into One Parousia. Does the description of Christ’s return in 2 Thess 1:7 apply to all those comings? If v7 is a summary of Christ’s multi-phase Second Advent then rapture-relief in these passages isn’t a chronological problem for pretribulationism.
In addition according to 2 Thess 2:8 the Lawless One is destroyed at Christ’s appearing which PW determines to be at Matt 24:30. Yet the LO is destroyed at Rev 19:20, which PW places 30 days after completion of the 70th week. Also, one PW refinement locates the Rev 20:4 tribulation martyrs’ resurrection to an earlier chapter (seven) – flexible chronology.
Incidentally, an early PW proposal was that the LO was “hamstrung” rather than destroyed at Matt 24:30. Can a hamstrung Beast later muster armies (6th bowl)? And if the Beast is given authority for 42 months (Rev 13:5) it’s reasonable that this is allowed to be exercised to the full extent, rather than a shortened Great Tribulation (Rev 12:6). Furthermore, that PW places the bowl judgments after the 70th week actually extends the Beast’s reign (Rev 16:10).
But let’s get back to 2 Thess 1, and specifically the subject of relief.
It has been proposed that relief isn’t just found in the rapture – it is also linked to the judgment and destruction of Antichrist’s kingdom, and the inauguration of God’s kingdom at Christ’s return (Rev 19 & 20). This is more or less held by the likes of John MacArthur, Charles Ryrie, Richard Mayhue and Mike Stallard etc.
In his Thessalonians commentary, Mike Stallard writes:
…the Thessalonians died centuries ago. There is no real way that the rapture of the church is the promised rest for them…For the promise to have genuine application to the Thessalonians, something else must be involved, namely, the idea of role reversal and vindication.
Some will respond that Paul anticipated Christ’s Second Advent (including the rapture) in his day. It didn’t occur then, but the posttrib-rapture-relief principle still applies. Of course this would also mean Paul expected Christ’s soon return, even though Peter’s martyrdom was imminent.
In his book “Come Quickly, Lord Jesus”, Charles Ryrie argues that the emphasis of these chapters is vindication:
If death or the rapture brings release from persecution, why should believers be concerned with this future vindication? Because the case against persecutors cannot be closed until Christ is vindicated and righteousness prevails.
Ryrie goes on to raise an issue I’ve pondered for years. Renald Showers hinted at it in “Maranatha – Our Lord, Come” – what about the 5th seal martyrs? Why, in heaven, are they crying the following?
“How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Rev 6:10
Upon Paul’s impending death he wrote that it was better to be with Christ. He was ultimately martyred. Why do the 5th seal martyrs complain? While being with the Lord will be a joyful experience, there must also exist a heavenly longing for a vindication of all wrongs. Hence the Lord replies that they will have to wait until their number has been completed. This occurs at the end the 70th week (see Rev 19:11-21; 20:1-3).
In my opinion Ryrie and Stallard make excellent points. I’d further add that this vindication does not exclude the presence of God’s wrath at the time of the martyrs’ cries. We see this principle in Habakkuk chapters one and two. God had used Assyria to punish Israel, and then He punished Assyria. More on God’s sovereignty HERE
Is the above discussion a definitive pretrib answer to posttrib objections and Paul’s meaning in these passages? Nope. However, what I hope to have achieved is to demonstrate that these passages do not pose an insurmountable obstacle to pretribulationism.
Maranatha!
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