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Sanctified Wholly

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Paul concludes his first  Letter to the Thessalonians  with a series of exhortations calling on the disciples of Jesus to pursue righteous living in the interim between their conversion and his “ arrival ” from heaven. He ends by summoning the congregation to pursue complete sanctification, an exhortation with verbal links to the preceding sections of the Letter.

Christianity's Forgotten Hope

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The biblical faith is forward-looking and integral to its doctrine of salvation is the future resurrection of the righteous dead, an event that will also mark the commencement of the New Creation. In the New Testament, this hope is linked to two events. First, the past resurrection of Jesus, and second, his future arrival at the end of the age. Moreover, the church’s salvation will remain incomplete until Jesus raises the dead, transforms all those still alive, and then “ gathers ” all his saints to himself.

Three Woes

An eagle flying in mid-heaven announces the last three trumpets, the three woes unleashed against the inhabitants of the earth  – Revelation 8:13.  The first four trumpets have sounded. Now, an “ eagle flying in mid-heaven ” announces the final three and calls them “ woes .” Unlike the first four, the plagues unleashed by the last three trumpets afflict the “ inhabitants of the earth ” themselves, whereas the first four damaged the infrastructure on which human society depends – agriculture, commerce, freshwater supplies, and light.

Reign of the Saints

During the “ thousand years ,” Satan is imprisoned, and the victorious saints reign as priests. Ironically, the “ rest of the dead ” do not live until the “ second death ” at the “ Great White Throne of Judgment .” Behind this image is Daniel’s vision of “ one like a Son of Man ” who receives the kingdom from the “ Ancient of Days .”

I Came to be in Spirit

In his first vision, John “ came to be in the spirit ” on the Isle of Patmos where he saw a vision of “ one like a Son of Man ” standing among the “ Seven Golden Lampstands .” The “ lampstands ” represented the seven churches of Asia. In the fourth chapter, he again “ came to be in the spirit .” But this time, he was summoned to heaven to receive a vision of the “ Throne ” at the center of the creation, the “ Sealed Scroll ,” and the slain “ Lamb .”