The Riddleblog

1 Thessalonians 1:10, Dispensationalism, and the “Wrath of God”

The following is from my forthcoming exposition of Paul’s Thessalonian Letters, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven” which will be made available as a free download for those who complete season two of the Blessed Hope Podcast.

Paul’s contention in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that the day of God’s wrath (and the final judgment) occurs when Jesus returns on the last day, raises insurmountable difficulties for all forms of premillennialism. Premillennarians contend that Jesus returns to establish a millennial kingdom on the earth, usually thought to be structured upon the theocratic nation of Israel, with Jesus physically ruling over the earth from David’s throne in Jerusalem. At the end of the millennial age, supposedly, Satan is released from the Abyss and organizes the nations who collectively revolt against Christ and his church (Revelation 20:7-10). In response to this last outbreak of evil, when God casts Satan and his minions into the lake of fire, only then does the final judgment take place, fully one thousand years after Jesus Christ returns to deliver his people from the coming wrath of God.

In light of the premillennial misinterpretation of the scene in Revelation 20:1-10–supposedly occurring after our Lord’s return, instead of seeing John as referring to the interadvental period and its consummation when Jesus returns–premillenarians (including dispensationalists) must assert that God’s eschatological wrath is not manifest until the thousand year millennial age comes to an end. Both camps affirm they hold this view based upon what they claim to be a literal reading of an apocalyptic text. But the impossibility of the premillennial view becomes all-too clear when Paul, in an epistle written to answer specific questions about the Lord’s return, informs the Thessalonians that God’s eschatological wrath occurs when Christ returns to deliver them (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10), not one thousand years later. This leaves no room for a millennial age after our Lord’s return. None at all.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerFebruary 16, 2024wrath of God, premillennialism, dispensationalism Comments

Hear Anything Lately About the Wrath of God? The Silence Is Deafening

It is a major theme throughout the Old Testament. It is found throughout the New Testament as well. John the Baptist clearly taught it (Matthew 3:7). Jesus preached about it (Luke 21:23). So did Paul (Romans 1:18; 9:22; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6). John mentions it once in his gospel (3:36) but makes it a central theme of the Apocalypse (Revelation 14:6 ff). But in our day and age–so it seems–no one wants to touch the subject. It is too controversial, too divisive. It often goes unmentioned in our pulpits. The very thought of it is repulsive to many Americans. I am talking about the wrath of God.

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Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJune 9, 2021wrath of God