1Thess 1:10

And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.

Is the 'wrath to come' the Destruction? I would think that refers to an historical event or set of events rather than eternal judgment. It could be the wrath described here;

Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

Im pretty sure we agree the Destruction is in view in this passage.

On the other hand Paul takes care to mention the resurerection and places Jesus in heaven , at the Right Hand of Power and the believers 'waiting'. I dont see that this requires his bodily return but neither does it rule it out.





15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then 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.

To make this an entirely spiritual event of the first century puts far too much stress on the passage. It certainly looks to me like physical resurrection of the church and the bodily appearance of the Lord. The 'trump' must be the last trump , setting a time frame that need not have any nearness to the original audience. The last enemy is put away forever marked by the bodily presence of the risen Lord to inaugurate the eternal state is what I think Paul has in view here.

Last edited by Hitch; Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:25 PM.