Paul's Views of the Second Coming

Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians were written in place of a personal visit, from Corinth. In these letters even though we can only read Paul’s dialogue, however the Thesalonian’s concerns are easy to discern though Paul’s council. The Thessalonians, from a previous encounter with Paul, have learned about the second coming and this is a main concern. It seems as if the people in Thessaloniki have become over zealous with prophecies concerning the second coming. Some have stopped working anticipating the return of the Savior. Others have taken it to another extreme where they have begun to commit many sins because they believe that Christ will soon come to redeem them. The books first and second Thessalonians are letters from Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus to the Thessalonians. Paul reminds the people the “the Lord cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Here he tells them that no one knows the time when the Savior will return, and that no one will be expecting it. This is the council that he gives to those who have put away their regular lives, who have quit working and supporting them selves, with the foolish belief that nothing mattered anymore because the Savior was soon to come. To the other group of people who had begun to commit sins, Paul gave a different piece of advise. He said unto them “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (Thessalonians 5:6). Paul advises the people not to sleep, or to stray away from the gospel principles, but to keep the commandments. When Paul refers to the ‘last days’ he is actually referring to the end of the first century church, the apostasy. Although Paul wasn’t talking about the last days before Christ would return, we can apply his teachings to us in the latter-days. In these days, some say that because of things like natural disasters or the crumbling economy that the time of Christ’s coming is at hand. Many refuse to buy insurance, or don’t live within their means because they think that the time of the Saviors coming is on the horizon. These people can also learn from Paul’s letters that “the Lord cometh as a thief in the night”. No one knows when he is coming, only that he is. For those who are living an “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die” lifestyle, Paul’s letters also ring true to to the truth that we need to be constantly preparing at all times for the second coming of the Savior. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, remind us in the latter-days that although we may not know the exact time of his coming, we must prepare ourselves that we may be ready to meet him.