Paul's Exhortations to the Thessalonian Church Volume 11

Paul Reminds these Thessalonian Believers of the Origin & Destiny of their Persecutors Part 2

1 Thessalonians 2:16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. KJV

It was enough that the Jews persecuted Paul and all of the men and women with him and that they in every generation persecuted oppressed and even killed the Prophets of old that were sent to them to warn them to turn back to YAHWEH, and even the fact that they rejected God's way of Righteousness through turning to our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, but now the Apostle Paul documnets for these new believers in Thessalonica and for us today and for all of every generation God the Father's final straw that caused Him to send severe Judgement to the Jews and to the city of Jerusalem as he says with these words, "Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." (1 Thessalonians 2:16) (KJV). The Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to take away the sin of the world as our Lord Jesus Himself said to the Jew Nicodemus with these words, "For God so greatly loved {and} dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation {and} be made safe {and} sound through Him. He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation--he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in {and} trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ's name.]" (John 3:16-18) (Amplified Bible).

In these words we find the straw that broke the camel's back being that there is no forgiveness, no salvation, or no heaven for any human being outside of Jesus Christ, none. Therefore, when the Apostle Paul uses the English word 'Forbidding' to categorize what the Jews were doing in regard to any Gentiles hearing about Jesus Christ and His saving work on the Cross of Calvary, well then this could no longer go unpunished or unjudged by God the Father. This English word 'Forbidding' is translated by the Greek word koluo meaning to curtail or to estop, that is, prevent (by word or act): - forbid, hinder, keep from, let, not suffer, withstand. In other words, the Jews were so spiritually blinded in their own perception that they themselves were in compliance with YAHWEH by keeping the Law of Moses that they wanted no one outside of Israel to come to God except their way of circumcision and keeping of the Mosaic Law, that is, they wanted every Gentile to become a Jew in order to be saved, but they missed YAHWEH standing right in front of them, that being, our Lord Jesus Christ was and is YAHWEH manifested in human flesh. Our Lord Jesus even burst their bubble concerning their reliance upon the Law of Moses to save them when He said these words to them, "You search {and} investigate {and} pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose {and} trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life. I receive not glory from men [I crave no human honor, I look for no mortal fame], But I know you and recognize {and} understand that you have not the love of God in you. I have come in My Father's name {and} with His Power, and you do not receive Me [your hearts are not open to Me, you give Me no welcome]; but if another comes in his own name {and} his own power {and} with no other authority but himself, you will receive him {and} give him your approval. How is it possible for you to believe [how can you learn to believe], you who [are content to seek and] receive praise {and} honor {and} glory from one another, and yet do not seek the praise {and} honor {and} glory which come from Him Who alone is God? Put out of your minds the thought {and} do not suppose [as some of you are supposing] that I will accuse you before the Father. There is one who accuses you--it is Moses, the very one on whom you have built your hopes [in whom you trust]. For if you believed {and} relied on Moses, you would believe {and} rely on Me, for he wrote about Me [personally]. But if you do not believe {and} trust his writings, how then will you believe {and} trust My teachings? [How shall you cleave to and rely on My words?]" (John 5:39-47) (Amplified Bible).

The English phrase 'they might be saved' Paul uses here referring to the Gentile's salvation is translated by one Greek word sozo meaning to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): - heal, preserve, save, make whole. This is what the Jews were preventing the Apostle Paul and all the others with him from presenting to the Gentile race, that is, the true and only way of salvation eternally by what our Lord Jesus Christ did by His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, this is the Gospel or Good News Paul presented to the Gentiles everywhere he went and the Jews hated it as evidence by this fact documented for us by Dr. Luke, "But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the Word of God [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] was also preached by Paul at Beroea, they came there too, disturbing {and} inciting the masses." (Acts 17:13) (Amplified Bible). This is what happened to Paul everywhere he went preaching Christ, the Jews showed up and tried to stop him, so that the Gentiles would not be saved unless (so they thought) they converted to Judaism. This done to the messengers of God the Father by the Jews was the cause of what Paul says 'to fill up their sins alway' by their persistent, pernicious, and purposeful pursuing and persecuting the messengers/ministers of God declaring the Gospel of Grace to all sinners Jew and Gentile. For this very reason God the Father's wrath or judgement upon them was not far off, because the history books document for us that around 70 A. D. a huge army led by Titus seized Jerusalem and surrounded it and forced the people from starvation to cook and eat their own babies for food as our Lord Jesus told them it would happen with tears because they rejected Him, "And as He approached, He saw the city, and He wept [audibly] over it, Exclaiming, Would that you had known personally, even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace (for freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin and upon which your peace--your security, safety, prosperity, and happiness--depends)! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For a time is coming upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank [with pointed stakes] about you and surround you and shut you in on every side. And they will dash you down to the ground, you [Jerusalem] and your children within you; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, [all] because you did not come progressively to recognize {and} know {and} understand [from observation and experience] the time of your visitation [that is, when God was visiting you, the time in which God showed Himself gracious toward you and offered you salvation through Christ]." (Luke 19:41-44) (Amplified Bible).

The writer of the Book of Lamentations documented this very sad and somber time for the people of Jerusalem with these words, "How the gold has become dim! How the most pure gold has changed! The hallowed stones [of the temple] are poured out at the head of every street. The noble {and} precious sons of Zion, [once] worth their weight in fine gold--how they are esteemed [merely] as earthen pots {or} pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! Even the jackals draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones, but the daughter of my people has become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness [that desert their young]. The tongue of the nursing babe cleaves to the roof of its mouth because of thirst; the young children beg for food, but no one gives it to them. Those who feasted on dainties are perishing in the streets; those who were brought up in purple lie cleaving to refuse {and} ash heaps. For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and no hands had come against her {or} been laid on her. [In physical appearance] her princes were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk; they were more ruddy in body than rubies {or} corals, their shapely figures [suggested a carefully cut] sapphire. [Prolonged famine has made] them look blacker than soot and darkness; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin clings to their bones; it is withered and it has become [dry] like a stick. Those who are slain with the sword are more fortunate than those who are the victims of hunger [slain by the famine]; for they [the hungry] pine {and} ebb away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. The hands of [heretofore] compassionate women have boiled their own children; they were their food during the destruction of the daughter of my people [Judah]. The Lord has fulfilled His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger and has kindled a fire in Zion that has consumed her foundations." (Lamentations 4:1-11) (Amplified Bible).

"What love poured out of the heart of our Precious Lord Jesus who did all that He could do for 3 1/2 years trying to make the Jews see that He was the God of their father's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so that they would turn to Him and this pending judgement would not happen in Jerusalem." Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

"They forbade the Apostles to preach to the Gentiles, lest they should be saved; this was an inveteracy of malice completely superhuman; they persecuted the body to death, and the soul to damnation! They were afraid that the Gentiles should get their souls saved if the Gospel was preached to them! They filled up their sins always; they had no mere purposes or outlines of iniquity, all were filled up; every evil purpose was followed, as far as possible, with a wicked act! Is it any wonder, therefore, that wrath should come upon them to the uttermost? It is to be reckoned among the highest mercies of God that the whole nation was not pursued by the Divine justice to utter and final extinction." Adam Clarke

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…