Here we will look at accounts of God’s ‘delayed’ judgments, as well as His ultimate eternal blessings for “the body of Christ” and a saved Israel. God is wise and purposeful, never compromising His character.

1. God delayed His promised judgment upon Adam and Eve, thus escaping God’s promise of death… for a time, after rebelling and sinning in the Garden. For God had originally told Adam; “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) Since the day of Adam’s sin against God all mankind has been under “the sentence of death” … but God intervened offering a way to cover their sins, that was by the ‘shed blood of innocent animal sacrifices,’ while delaying Adam’s dying.

Yes, Eve and then Adam ate of the forbidden “tree” … but they did not die right away. They were allowed to live for a time because… “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Gen. 3:21) These “coats of skins” represent the very first ‘shedding of innocent blood to cover sins.’ This experience for Adam and Eve must have set the precedent of blood sacrifice to deal with sins as by his son Able. We know this because Adam must have passed this experience onto his son Able who made the good sacrifice of an innocent animal, shedding its blood, which was accepted by God, while his brother Cain offered vegetables and it was rejected (cf. Gen. 4:3-4). So even before the Mosaic law with all of its sacrificial system outlined, God had already made a way for sins to be ‘covered.’ We know that all humans of all dispensational ages possess the infection of “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3), which then causes all men to sin and die physically. Thankfully, those who believe are no longer “in Adam,” but now “in Christ.” In Christ they are redeemed, justified, and set free of the eternal effects from Sin and eternal death.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Rom. 8:2)

2. Nation Israel escaped God’s judgment for a time after generations of unrepented sins, “killing the prophets” (1Kin 18:4); and then even after killing Jesus at the cross Judgment was delayed for a time.

“³² And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man (against Jesus, the Messiah), it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall NOT be forgiven him, neither in this world (age), neither in the world (age) to come. (Matthew 12:32)

It was in the killing of Stephen, a man “full of the Holy Spirit,” in Acts 7, Israel’s rejected the witness of “the Holy Spirit,” which was unforgivable. With that act, Israel became fallen, blinded and set aside… for a time, before judgment. Thus the “Kingdom to come …on earth” for Israel has been delayed… for a time.

“I say then, Have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their FALL salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. ¹²Now if the FALL of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them (Israel) the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

¹³ For I (Paul) speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles… ¹⁴If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. ¹⁵For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? ²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (at Rapture).” (Rom. 11:11-15, 25)

3. Here in Lk 4:18-20 Jesus quoted Isa. 61:1 and “closed the book,” NOT reading Isa. 61:2 since its words are not to be fulfilled all at once. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (NOTE: Jesus stopped reading here, while verse 2 continues…)  ²To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (Isa. 61:1-2) This means, God’s vengeance was yet ‘delayed.’
4. God’s promise of our “gathering unto Christ” … “in the air,” for the members “the Church, the body of Christ” … at our Rapture to heaven sometime later in “the dispensation of the grace of God,” has been delayed for an unknown time period. It is delayed “until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25, above), thus, completing “the body of Christ.” Just imagine, some one person will be the very last genuine grace age believer to be added to “His body” just before the Rapture! Of course, all believers will go home to heaven sooner or later… this is our “comfort” … as we are ever mindful of this truth.

“For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹ Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)

“For 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: ¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be ‘caught up’ (‘Raptured,’ Latin, rapiemur) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Wherefore COMFORT one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave (Grk., hades), where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:52-55)

Now I must explain a common error in Bible interpretation due to the misuse and often altering the words of the Bible. 2 Thes. 2:1-4 has long been an apparent problem for pre-tribulational dispensationalists since many try to make Israel’s prophetic “Day of THE LORD” the same as Paul’s “Day of CHRIST,” the Rapture. The Pauline text below actually reveals these as two different events and times, as I’ve numbered them.

(1.) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him (our Rapture to heaven), ²That ye Be Not Soon Shaken In Mind, or be Troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as (alleged to be) from us, as (if) that ‘THE DAY of CHRIST’ is at hand (as if the Rapture) had past and what they are experiencing was His kingdom on earth). (2 Thess. 2:1-2) Hardly! Paul continues

(2.) “Let no man deceive you by any means: for ‘THAT DAY’ (the Day of THE LORD coming in judgment) shall NOT come, except (until) there come a falling away first, and that ‘man of sin’ be revealed, the son of perdition (the Antichrist); Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that He As God Sitteth In The Temple of God, Shewing Himself That He Is God.” (2 Thes. 2:3-4, cf. Dan. 9:26-27)

Exactly how is “The Day of THE LORD” different from “The Day of CHRIST”?

• fulfills Prophecy for Israel: “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,¹⁸Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S Wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” (Zeph. 1:15, 18)

- Peter writes to Israel: “the Day of THE LORD’ will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein (man’s creations) shall be burned up. ¹¹Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved …” (2Pet. 3:10-11)

There are many other scriptures describing “the Day of the Lord” to include the Tribulation Judgment and Jesus’ 2^nd coming (Isa. 2:12-21; Amos 5:18-20; Joel 1:15; 2:1-2, 10-11, 30-31). No person wants to go through “the Day of the Lord,” a terrible time for those who refused the atoning sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus.

The “Day of the Lord,” is terrible, not the “Day of Christ,” that wonderful day of our ‘Rapture’ to heaven.

The “Day of the Lord” is the day in which the Lord pours out judgment and justice. This comes at the end of Daniel’s 70th week, the Tribulation period and the judgments at His 2^nd Coming.

• The “Day of the LORD” is a time of Terror, Darkness, and Wrath. It is a “day of visitation” (Isa. 10.3), a “day of the wrath of the Lord” (Eze. 7.19), called the “great day of the Lord” (Zeph. 1.14).
• By contrast, the “Day of CHRIST,” a uniquely Pauline phrase is seen in Phili. 1:6, 10, 16; 2 Tim 1:18; 2; 4:8; 1 Cor 1:8; where it is a “day of Rejoicing,” a day of Rewards, and a day of reigning with Christ in our heavenly places (cf. 2Tim. 2:12, Eph. 1:3-4).

• “The Day of CHRIST” is 1) for “the Church… the Body of Christ,” 2) a day of Blessing, 3) a heavenly hope, eagerly anticipated.
• The “Day of The LORD” condemns; 1) the rejectors of Christ, 2) it is a day of judgment, 3) of earthly despair, 4) to be feared and dreaded.

True Christians are not destined to go through the “Day of the LORD.” Paul wrote: “… being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Rom. 5:9b) “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁰ Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should (will) live (zao) together with him.” (1 Thes. 5:9-10). The believers of this age of grace will be ‘Raptured before the Wrath.’ Those who do not get raptured, if alive at that time, will ultimately face “the Day of the LORD.”

So, “The Day of Christ” seen in 2 Thes. 2:2, pg. 2, item (2.), is not the same event as the “Day of the Lord”! This needs to be understood. Sadly, many modern Bibles use “Day of the Lord,” altering this passage. The Greek and KJV use the “Day of the Christ.” Furthermore, the context also supports that this passage can’t be “Day of the Lord,” since the preceding verse is talking about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, & our gathering together to Him, which is referring to the ‘Rapture,’ not to the “Day of the Lord’s” vengeance! But immediately after we are Raptured, “the day of the Lord” will begin. The passage clearly says that “the Day of Christ,” who is currently exile to heaven, will not come again until 3-1/2 years after the Antichrist is openly revealed in the mid-tribulation, when he performs his blasphemies in the Temple, as prophesied of Daniel’s 70th week, (cf. Dan. 9:26-27). The “day of the Lord” and “day of Christ” refer to two different events and times.

Our gathering unto Him “in the air” is “the day of Christ,” the Rapture of “His body,” to be followed by “The Day of the Lord” which is the end-time judgments and the establishment of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom on earth. “The Day of Christ,” the gathering of the church unto the Lord in heaven at the Rapture is ‘imminent’; it could happen at any time. The “Day of the Lord” is not imminent, as the Rapture must come first. Co-mingling “the Day of the Lord” (2^nd coming) with the Rapture only leads to interpretive mistakes. Mixing “the Church, His body” of “the Mystery” with “Prophecy” relating Israel is the great problem.

Those who do not rightly divide Israel’s ‘prophecy program’ … from Paul’s “mystery” (God’s secret plan) program for “the body of Christ,” thereby place “the body of Christ” in the midst of Daniel’s 70th week of the 7-year Tribulation (cf. Dan. 9:26-27). Some say Paul is just preparing “the church” to enter Great tribulation. Hogwash! This is exactly opposite to what Paul teaches about the nature and purpose of “the mystery” church. It contradicts Paul’s purpose, to ‘comfort and calm the fears’ of the troubled Thessalonians, all due to false doctrine. Paul wrote “That ye Be Not Soon Shaken in Mind, or be Troubled…” (2 Thes. 2:2).

Since “the Day of Christ” is the Rapture… before the Tribulation, why would the Thessalonians be troubled? The lie of 2 Thes. 2:2 had troubled the Thessalonians with a fearful looking to the horrible judgements of “the Day of the Lord,” thinking they had missed the Rapture to heaven? But there is a proper eschatological interpretation that maintains the integrity of God’s words, as seen in Paul’s clear teaching of the God-made separation between Paul’s “mystery church’ and that which applies to ‘Israel.’

The “Day of Christ” is not only our gathering together unto him, but it also speaks of our day in heaven AFTER our gathering at the Rapture, when the church, “His body,” co-reigns with Him “in heaven” (cf. 2Tim. 2:12). Israel will afterward reign on the earth (cf. Rev. 5:10, 20:6). Clearly, this “present evil world” is not Paul’s “the Day of Christ.” Neither is today “the kingdom” on earth as is promised to Israel, nor is it the prophesied Tribulation that precedes His coming kingdom on earth.

Paul had to calm the Thessalonian and Corinthian believers who were lied to.

“And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; ¹⁸Who concerning the truth have erred, Saying That the Resurrection Is Past Already; and Overthrow the Faith Of Some.” (2Tim. 2:18)

In the 1^st century there were false teachers saying that the resurrection (Rapture) had already come and ‘the kingdom’ was then present, and that they were somehow then living during the reign of Christ on the earth. Some even said there was is resurrection from the dead. If this were true then those facing persecution for Christ and the grace gospel in that day would be miserable (1 Cor 15:19). Why and how would they sacrifice and endure hardship… if the persecution they were experiencing was their supposed was the time of reward (1 Cor 15:32)? The Thessalonians were being troubled and confused by the false teaching… that said they had missed the Rapture (resurrection) and the Millennial kingdom had already begun on earth.

So, Paul had to correct this false teaching by his epistles. Paul reminded them of specific events in future prophecy, so they could see that those events had not yet occurred, evidencing that they had not missed the resurrection (Rapture) of the church to glory. Two false doctrines were taught by Sadducee Jews in the 1^st century, and were common troubles of the early churches. 1) 1Cor. 15 is Paul’s defense of the resurrection; and 2) 1Thes. 4:13-18 is Paul’s defense of the Rapture of “the body of Christ” gathering unto Him to dwell and “reign with Him” in heaven… “forever” (2Tim. 2:12, 2Cor 5:1b), before His 2^nd coming.

Yet, there are those today falsely teaching we’re living in the kingdom NOW, or that we will go through all or part of the prophesied Tribulation. They deny the pre-tribulation resurrection of “His body” to “meet the Lord in the air” in the Rapture. They don’t see the timeline of right division between Israel’s coming “day of the LORD” and “the day of Christ,” Rapturing “the body of Christ” to heaven.

This is why the Thessalonians were troubled, ‘shaken in mind.’ If today’s present distress was all there was to expect, and the time of rewards and blessing had already come, then, as Paul wrote, why wouldn’t they just stop serving the Lord and start eating, drinking, and being merry? “… what advantageth it me, if the dead RISE not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” (1 Cor 15:32)

The “dispensation of grace” leads to “the Day of Christ” and the time of ‘reigning with Him’ in Heaven, but the Thessalonians were being persecuted not ‘reigning’ only because the “day of Christ” had not yet come.

“So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: ⁵ Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, (so) that ye may be ‘counted worthy’ of (trained up for) the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: ⁶ Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-6)

So, Paul comforts the Thessalonians with the truth, saying the persecution they were facing was NOT descriptive of the kingdom on earth, nor was it “the Day of Christ” when they will co-reign with Christ in resurrected glory “in the heavenly places.” After the Rapture there will come a time that is worse than it then was in Thessalonica… followed by the Antichrist, wars, and the return of the Lord in “vengeance.”

Paul encourages them reminding them of the future events that he had already spoken of.

1. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in judgment against their persecutors (2 Thes. 1:7-9; 2:1).
2. But first, he gathering together of “the church, the body of Christ” in the Rapture resurrection.

“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thes’ 1:10) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,” (2 Thes. 2:1)
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. ¹⁵… we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) 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: ¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be ‘caught up’ (Latin, rapturo) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Thes. 4:13-18)

What they were experiencing was not the fullness of times, or reign of Christ, nor the kingdom come. They were experiencing “the mystery of iniquity” which was at work. “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he (The Holy Spirit) who now letteth will let, until ‘he’ be taken out of the way.” (2 Thes. 2:7)

As us, the Thessalonians were living in “this present evil world,” and they needed to be able to count on the coming the greater glory that shall be revealed in us in the resurrection. “For I reckon (count) that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18) In every chapter of his Thessalonian epistle, Paul mentions the ‘resurrection’ so that they would not be troubled about their present distress and think their life of trouble was the only thing would ever have.

Today, judgment is delayed; this present time isn’t “the kingdom,” nor is it the prophesied “wrath of God.” And, our coming “Day of Christ” is not the “Day of the Lord’s wrath.” Our Rapture has not past, it’s just delayed for an unspecified time… until “the body of Christ” is filled up with saved souls (Rom. 11:25)!