Gathering His Elect

The saints will be gathered before Jesus on the Last Day, but the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence.

On the Last Day, the righteous and the unrighteous will be assembled before Jesus. The former, for vindication and salvation. The latter, for judgment and punishment. In Second Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul confirms that believers will be gathered by Jesus on the Day of the Lord when he arrives from Heaven, at his “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ (παρουσια) – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

The Bible presents a consistent picture. At the end of the present evil age, Jesus will appear on the clouds and gather his elect to himself. The nations will be brought before him for judgment. All his enemies will be subjugated. The righteous will receive immortal bodies, the Kingdom will be consummated, and “God will be all in all” - (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

[Harvest - Photo by martin bennie (Scotland) on Unsplash]

In the Parable of the ‘Wheat and the Tares’, for example, Jesus pictures the final harvest when he sends the “reapers to gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but to gather the wheat into my barn.” The reapers represent angels sent to “gather all things that cause stumbling” out of his Kingdom. The righteous will be gathered to join Christ in his kingdom, where they “will shine forth as the sun” - (Matthew 13:30, 13:40-43).

In his sermon on the Mount of Olives, Jesus describes his ‘Parousia’ or “arrival” when the nations will see the Son of Man appear in glory. He will send his angels to gather his saints from around the Earth:

• “For as the lightning shines from the east, and is seen even to the west, so also will be the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Son of Man. <…> Immediately after the tribulation of those days, THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE HER LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL FROM THE HEAVENS, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens. And then ALL THE TRIBES OF THE EARTH WILL MOURN, and they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a GREAT SOUND OF A TRUMPET, and they will gather together his elect FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:27-31. Note carefully, the verbal allusions to Isaiah 11:12, 13:10, 27:13, 43:6, Daniel 7:13, Joel 2:31, Zechariah 12:10).

In his Parable of ‘the Sheep and Goats’, Jesus illustrates the judgment that will occur on the final day. When the “Son of Man comes in his glory,” he will be accompanied by “all the angels.” He will take his seat on the “throne of his glory,” and all nations will be “gathered before him” for judgment. Christ will separate the “sheep” from the “goats.” The former will inherit the Kingdom, but the goats will receive “everlasting punishment” - (Matthew 25:31-46).

ACCORDING TO SAINT PAUL

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul describes the ‘Parousia’ or “arrival” of Jesus when faithful believers will become his “crown of boasting.” The Apostle prayed for God to establish their hearts “blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” – (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13).

When Jesus arrives, the righteous dead will be resurrected and reunited with those saints who remain alive on Earth, and together, the entire assembly will meet Jesus as he descends from Heaven, “WITH A SHOUT, with the voice of an archangel and THE TRUMPET OF GOD” – (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Note the allusion to Psalm 47:5 in the Septuagint [“God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with a sound of a trumpet”]).

In the first chapter of Second Thessalonians, Paul describes “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power IN FLAMING FIRE.” The Lord “WILL RENDER VENGEANCE to those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus,” and they will suffer “everlasting DESTRUCTION FROM THE FACE OF THE LORD, and from THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT” - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

In contrast to the wicked, Jesus will be “GLORIFIED IN HIS SAINTS” when they are assembled before him, and they will receive “rest with us.” Note Paul’s verbal allusions to the books of Isaiah and Joel, and how the Apostle applies promises made to Ancient Israel to the Church of Jesus:

• “Now, therefore, enter into the rocks, and hide yourselves in the earth, for fear of the Lord, and by reason of the glory of his might, when he shall arise to strike terribly the earth” - (Isaiah 2:10).

• “The Lord will come as fire, and his chariots as a storm, to render his vengeance with wrath, and his rebuke with a flame of fire” - (Isaiah 66:15).

• “Sing, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it! Shout, O lower parts of the earth! Break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree, for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob, and he will glorify himself in Israel” – (Isaiah 44:23).

• “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty, it will come” - (Joel 1:15).

In Second Thessalonians, Saint Paul describes a final day when Jesus will return, bringing salvation and glory for his saints, but judgment and punishment to those men who refuse to obey the Gospel. Both events occur when Christ arrives on the Day of the Lord.

In the next chapter, Paul gives further information about the Day of the Lord and the arrival of Christ. That day will mean our gathering to him. The Apostle’s statement echoes the saying from the sermon of Jesus on the Mount of Olives about the gathering of his elect:

• “Now, we urge you concerning the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together [‘episunagôgé’] to him, that you not be quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is imminent” – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

• “And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together [‘episunagô’] his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” - (Matthew 24:31).

• “But when THE SON OF MAN COMES IN HIS GLORY, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. And before him will be gathered ALL THE NATIONS. And he will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” - (Matthew 25:31-33. Compare Daniel 7:13-14).

When he arrives, Jesus will send his angels to assemble the saints before him. The righteous dead will be raised, and those who are still alive will be transformed and receive immortal bodies. On this same day, the wicked and disobedient will be gathered before the Lord for judgment and punishment.

Whenever the New Testament authors describe this final day, whether they call it ‘the Day of the Lord’, Christ’s ‘arrival’, the ‘revelation of Jesus’, or ‘the coming of the Son of Man’, the Greek term is always in the singular number. The same event is in view. There will be only one return of Jesus in glory, “on the clouds of heaven,” not two (or more).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

 

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SEE ALSO:

• Rumors and Disinformation - (False information about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion among the believers of Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• The Day of the Lord - (Jesus will arrive to gather his saints on the Day of the Lord, but only after the apostasy and the unveiling of the Son of Destruction)

• Missing Events - (Two events must occur before the Day of the Lord begins: The Apostasy and the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness in God’s House)

• Rassembler ses Saints - (Les saints seront rassemblés devant Jésus au Dernier Jour, mais les méchants seront rassemblés pour le jugement et chassés de sa présence)