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1 Thessalonians 2:15
15 Who both [kai] killed [apokteino] the Lord [kurios] Jesus, [Iesous] and [kai] their own [idios] prophets, [prophetes] and [kai] have persecuted [ekdioko] us; [hemas] and [kai] they please [aresko] not [me] God, [theos] and [kai] are contrary [enantios] to all [pas] men: [anthropos] KJV-Interlinear
15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, NASB
As to who killed Jesus Christ, there is a simple answer and a complex answer. First, no one killed Christ. Christ is God, and as God, He cannot be killed. Jesus as humanity was formed with a physical body, and human soul, and a human spirit, combined together with deity. Jesus Christ is both man and God, united together in one single person, the unique person in all of creation and heaven included.
The physical body can be killed, but the soul and spirit cannot.
So the obvious answer is that the Jewish people back in Jesus time, convicted Jesus by means of six different and extraordinary trials, then they turned Him over to the Romans to be crucified.
But Paul states here that they killed both Jesus and the prophets, and that is a complex reference to the Jewish history of constant and repetitive rejection of God and those who He sent as his representatives.
When the prophets came along, they were rejected and even killed.
The Jewish history is one of a chosen people, of whom they presumed they were, however their conduct demonstrates that they in fact were not Gods chosen people, but rather represent the rejection of God, that exists in all of humanity.
Gods chosen are those who are chosen by spiritual birth (faith in the Savior, faith in the plan of God, faith in the promised Messiah, faith in Christ), not by physical birth. Just being born through some genetic descendant does not qualify one for salvation. In fact, of the races since the time of Noah, there have been so many mixed marriages, and breeding because of inter-family, inter-tribal, inter-cultural, inter-whatever relationships, that a single pure race simply does not exist.
Even Abraham was not called an Israelite, but a Hebrew. The term Israel did not exist until Jacob was renamed by that term. His sons were then called Israelites, and thus the nation was formed in concept. It would not be for another four-hundred years or so, and until after the Exodus that the nation would be recognized. And even then, there were many recorded inter-marriages with the local gentile nations in the promised land.
These inter-marriages were in violation with Gods command against such marriages. However this command was instructional in so far as it taught the differences between Gods chosen, and Gods un-chosen, the spiritual life versus the carnal life.
Those who believe in Christ must live a spiritual life in fellowship, in maturity as they advance within their spiritual lives. Living out of fellowship, living in the carnal sphere rather than living inside of Gods chosen spiritual sphere, is the same symbolically as inter marriages with the gentiles. So symbolism was the point here.
As a parable, the purity of the Israelite race was comparable to the purity of a person living in their spiritual life. And living out of fellowship and thus in the carnal world, was symbolized by choosing from the gentile realm.
I hope this makes sense.
So, the Jews of Jesus day, thought of themselves as Gods chosen, but in fact they rejected the very person of whom was represented within the scriptures, that they held custody of. And by their behavior, the Jewish peoples of Jesus Day, represent all of humanity in their rejection of truth. Thus the need for mans rescue through salvation.
Just because they put Jesus up on the Cross, does not make them any worse than you when you ignore your spiritual life.
God planed the crucifixion of Christ in eternity past in the Divine Decrees. If it were not for Satan’s rebellion, then man probably would never have come into existence. If it were not for Adam and Eve’s failure, then the Cross would not have been required.
But of course those things did occur, and thus Christ presented Himself for the work of salvation, which was His plan all along, even though man believed that he, man, was controlling his own environment and destiny.
You see, humanity does not have much control over anything. He just participates in a divine plan which God put into place long ago.
The events happening in our current day, are not events that mean that the Rapture will occur at any given moment. Our entire 1900 plus year history of the Church Age, has been one long and continuous sequence of alignment of things, which God is putting into place piece by piece.
It took many centuries to form the nations that currently exist. It took many centuries to form the technologies that currently exist. It has taken many centuries to position the continents where they are, ready for the great earthquakes yet to come. Even the current nation of Israel, did not come into existence until 1948, and yet that was not the last ingredient before the Rapture and Tribulation are to occur.
God is still forming or allowing to form, the many things that need to be in place before the Rapture can occur.
People have to be born, people have to die, people have to believe in Christ, people have to reject Christ, nations have to be formed, political views have to come into existence, technologies, laws, regulations, patterns for future legislation and so forth all have to be arranged.
But at some point in time, all will be ready, and then the Rapture will occur.
God does nothing haphazardly. Everything that God does in contained within His plan. There is a schedule, there is a timetable, there is a date certain already set, for the Rapture. You and I just do not know when that is.
All we can do is sit back and observe human history unfolding right before our eyes. And because we are so far along within our dispensation, we have the opportunity to see many things unfold at a somewhat quicker pace, and compare them to the things that have already been revealed as existing in the Tribulation.
For example, the anti-Christ of the Tribulation will promote universal identification and registration, for all economic activities. When the Social Security system was put into place back in the 1930’s, folks said that the end was then. Then World War Two, then the nation of Israel was formed, the United Nations followed the pattern of the League of Nations from the 1920’s. The world powers were formed with China, Russia, the Arab States, and the US and Europe, representing the four world powers.
But as you can see, these things were only the placement of a few pieces of a puzzle which God is assembling, and keeps assembling.
The current Health Care legislation, though totally objectionable, is giving us a peek into where our future is heading. And whether it occurs now or not, it will occur sooner or later, because that is the course of human history. A history not forced by God, but chosen and orchestrated by man. And one day, it will all be in place for the Rapture, and then man will have his last attempt at controlling his own destiny, which will fail miserably.
And so what does all of this have to do with our verse? Rejection of God, means rejection of truth. And that leads to ideas that will not work. When mans ideas do not work, then persecution and violence always follow.
Hitler murdered millions. Stalin could not support his population so he murdered millions. Mao, had weird ideas and took millions from the farms to build cities, and that led to no crops, no food, and mass starvation because of a man-made famine.
When the few try to control the many, then disaster always results, and suffering is horrendous.
So read the last few words in our verse, ‘hostile to all men.’
When truth is rejected, then your fellow countrymen will turn on you. They will turn on each other. They will become snitches and spies. An evil government cannot exist unless it knows who is for them and who is against them, and then they get rid of their opponents. That is always inevitable. Sooner or later everyone becomes the enemy.
It all begins with arrogance and then rejection of Christ, something that seemingly causes no harm to anyone, but ends up causing great harm to all.
The subject of 1 Thessalonians is ‘waiting.’ Paul is developing several concepts, so you and I can see the history which has already been, and the history which is yet to come. And through our observations, we can know that all we need do is be patient, and stick with our daily studies. God will take care of us and God will take care of all of the details of history, on His timetable.
Mans plans will be many, and they will be sophisticated, and they will all lead to suffering, but Jesus Christ controls history, and your life is safe in His hands, not mans.
