Kingdom Disciples

Disciples of Jesus should expect suffering on account of their faithful testimony. While it may not occur daily or in every believer’s life, persecution is not, or should not be, something unexpected or shocking to the Church. The primary cause is the faithful proclamation of the Gospel; however, when believers fail to preach the Good News to a hostile world, their sufferings for the sake of Jesus diminish, and persecution becomes a distant memory.

In the first chapter of  First Thessalonians , Paul anticipates the Letter’s main subjects, including the tribulation of believers, Christian hope, and the “ arrival ” of Jesus when, as God did for the three Jewish exiles in the  Book of Daniel , he will rescue his people from “ wrath .” Moreover, he will resurrect the righteous dead, and “ meet ” his assembled saints as he descends from Heaven. On that day, his disciples, both the living and the dead, will “ obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ .”

Each of us has asked the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Why, despite their faithfulness and supplications, do many Christians become ill and die from horrible diseases? Why do so many not experience the emotionally satisfying presence of God, see visions, or have angelic visitations? Can anyone explain by war, poverty, and starvation persist in this world?

For disciples of Jesus, retaliation and violence are inappropriate reactions to hostility and persecution. Instead, they must meet threats and assaults with humility, mercy, and forgiveness. This is what it means to “ deny yourself ,” “ take up his cross ,” and follow him “ wherever he leads .” Doing good to one’s “ enemy ” is contrary to the “ wisdom of this age ,” yet doing so is how the believer becomes “ perfect as the Heavenly Father .”

Our natural tendency is to avoid conflict. Understandably, we prefer our daily lives to be characterized by peace, acceptance, and prosperity, a life devoid of difficulties and afflictions. Moreover, the New Testament does promise believers peace now and everlasting life later. Nevertheless, it also exhorts the Assembly of God to expect afflictions and even persecution in this life on account of its light and testimony in a sin-darkened world.

The terms “ tribulation ” and “ wrath ” are  NOT  synonymous in Paul’s letters or the  Book of Revelation . “ Tribulation ” is what the disciples of Jesus endure for his sake. “ Wrath ” is the horrific fate that awaits the wicked at the final judgment. In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes that God did not appoint them to “ wrath .” Yet, in the same letter, he states that believers are destined for “ tribulation .”

At the start of his vision, John identified himself as a “ fellow participant ” with the Assemblies of Asia in “ the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus .” He was banished to the Isle of Patmos for his “ testimony ” for Jesus, and like the seven congregations on the Asian mainland, he had endured “ tribulation ” for the sake of the “ Kingdom ” and his witness for the exalted Sovereign over all things, the “ Ruler of the Kings of the Earth .”