The last time I dove into the Gospel of John, we were looking at John 1:42, where we saw Andrew bringing Simon/Peter to Jesus.

The last time I dove into the Gospel of John, we were looking at John 1:42, where we saw Andrew bringing Simon/Peter to Jesus.

Let's pick up where I left off several months ago. I initially added a couple of colorful maps.  I think they would have broken any monotony and given you a visual reference to the subject, Jesus and His surroundings, but that turned into an editing nightmare, so I abandoned the maps. 

Virtually every Bible entitles this next section:

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

“The next day, Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, “Follow Me.”” (John 1:43 BSB)

The context puts Jesus in proximity to John the baptizer, and this is a portion of what we know about John.

Matthew 3:13 NASB “Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.”

After some discussion, John relents and baptizes Jesus. This is when the spirit descended upon Him like a dove, and God acknowledged His Son.

Mark 1:12-13 NASB “Immediately the Spirit *impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. (13) And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.” 

Clearly, Jesus, at this point, is by Himself, off in the wilderness; therefore, this gathering of disciples and all the amazing things associated with drawing them in did not happen right away.

John 1:35-36 BSB  The next day, John was there again with two of his disciples.  (36)  When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

This would have happened after the wilderness because Jesus had gone South toward the Negev, and He was alone.

John 1:37 BSB  And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

This next statement doesn't sound like something Jesus would say.

John 1:38 BSB  “Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”

 

The NASB conveys that He said, “What do you seek?” It is the Greek word zēteō and means to seek. The word seek is an open-ended question and leans more toward what the Strong's tells us. He just as easily could have said to them, What are you looking for.

What disciples was Jesus talking to?

Verse 35 tells us that there were two disciples with him when Jesus showed up. I am convinced, although I do not think it matters, that the two who were with John when Jesus first showed up were Andrew and Philip. Possible evidence for this assertion is as follows:

John 1:40-41 BSB  “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John’s testimony and followed Jesus.  (41)  He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).”

And Philip.

John 1:44-45 BSB  “Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.  (45)  Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

Bethsaida, in case you are wondering, is at the Northeast end of the Sea of Galilee.  

 

“Nathanael is the one who said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.” John 1:46 BSB 

Andrew, when he found Peter, said,  “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ). John 1:41 BSB

 

It's odd, Andrew expressed that “we” have found the Messiah. Take that with a grain of salt, for they all, including the baptizer, struggled to grasp who this Jesus was.

Interesting how the “Apostle” John wrote this next verse.

John 1:42 NASB He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

Cephas/Peter, is the Greek word Kēphas and means the Rock.  

 

If you have not seen the series “The Chosen,” you should because it portrays the characters in their fleshly frailties. The series took its time fastening the title, the rock, on Peter because they put him through several intense struggles of faith. I frequently tell the men (who don't read their Bibles) that we are not given this information in the scriptures. But we all have human frailties, and something like this may have happened, just as it happens to each of us.

Proof?

1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB (13) “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

I already pointed out how Jesus got baptized by John, although this may have been the second day, that is not clear to us; and now the two disciples are overambitious to get Jesus to tell them where He is staying.

Almost as if Jesus had paid for a room at the Motel 6 and had slipped out for a coffee and doughnut, the English translators, often under pressure from the state church, said things that give you, the reader, the wrong impression.

Allow me to demonstrate.

John 1:37-38 NASB “The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (38) And Jesus turned and saw them following, and *said to them, "What do you seek?" They said to Him, "Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?"

We know that the Spirit led Him off into the wilderness for 40 days. So there was not much in the way of the next day. Let's assume that He has come back from the wilderness, and it is still a great distance to the Galilee region, where home might have been.

John 1:43 NASB “The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me."”

This is the reason why I included an occasional map, so you can get the idea of how far it is from a possible location of John's baptizing(s) to, at least, the homes of several of the disciples. There is a tremendous amount of logic in Jesus asking Philip to follow Him into the wilderness, so what we see in verse 43 had to take place when Jesus came back from the wilderness.

Luke 3:1-3 BSB  “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,  (2)  during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.  (3)  He went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,”

So there is a practicality for the Baptizer to stay in close proximity to the Jordan River. Having established that Philip is one of the two, John's gospel gives us a bit more background.

John 1:44 NASB “Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.”

 

Where did we find Jesus, John the baptizer, Andrew, and Philip?

With John the baptizer going to where usable water was available, our clues as to where he is baptizing come from multiple clues. I did a word search in e-Sword and got this information.

• In John 1:28. we are told “these things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.”

  Most of the maps show the Jordan River running east to west the closer to Galilee, and turning southward toward the Dead Sea as it moves downward. Since we see John the baptizer near Jerusalem, we make assumptions about him choosing a location closer to the Pharisees and Herod, so he could confront them, while the truth is, it was all about water.

• It is in John 3:23 that we see John also “baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized—“.

  The gospel of John is the only place we find a reference to Aenon.

  This place/name is not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament, nor is it found in any other historical sources; therefore, its location is uncertain. It might be important to note that the Jordan River is frequently lacking enough water to baptize anyone.

Bethsaida was toward the Northern end of the Sea of Galilee. Galilee proper was a region that encompassed Nazareth in the South and Capernaum in the North.

John 1:45 NASB Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph".

 

Nathanael responded with a classic, Jewish, snarky response.

John 1:46 NLT  “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.  

 

Most of us have no idea that Jewish culture is dripping with sarcasm. I would not have known that if I had not been watching a man, who has since died, named Zola Levitt. He kind of reminded me of Tevya, the actor who dominated the movie, The Fiddler on the Roof. Zola, when he had his program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, would give you background information about the Jews.

I want to add that I, like so many others, could see and understand all the reasons that people were, and some still are, believing that Jesus should have come back to gather His bride already. One prominent example could be drawn from Paul's letter to the church in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 15:52 NASB (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Many, including me, easily see this as the last trump of Rosh Hashanah, which has come and gone. I have taken the attitude that Jesus can and will return at any moment. I strongly suggest, if you are a follower of the Messiah, that you do the same. Our brothers and sisters in Christ, who live in Nigeria, for one, are being slaughtered daily, while their cries for justice are being ignored, primarily because they are not Jewish and they are Christians.

No doubt, He is coming to judge and make war, but this is NOT the final judgment. Revelation 20:4.

Recently, 10/08/25, the wife and I watched one of the assistant pastors at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, take the microphone and preach a sermon called The Millennium of the Messiah, I suspect because Pastor Jack was not there as this young man is the High School Pastor and does not usually preach to a middle-aged crowd.

As I listened, I believe there were at least three times I said, that is NOT in the Bible. Only one now stands out distinctly in my mind, the day after, and it goes something like this.

“The sheep and the goats will be among those judged by Jesus shortly after the end of the seven-years of God's wrath. The sheep, being found righteous, will gain entrance into the millennial kingdom, while the goats will go off directly to hell.”

I am not going into a conversation about the sheep, but I am going to talk about judgment.

I, immediately, said to my wife, that is NOT in the Bible. Furthermore, I could not check to see if there was a transcript, and so I am having to go slowly through the playback of the video.

The young pastor's introduction continued with these statements.

• “We must understand something, He is coming to judge and make war.”

  Is this an appropriate statement?

  The answer is yes, but… The Revelation is a Revealing of Jesus, therefore, the seven-years is Jesus pouring out the Father's wrath, or in other words, judgment. In the chronology of events, since Jesus just came riding back to earth on the white horse, then we must understand that He is not quite finished with the seven-years. 

  He is only going to kill those who have come to fight with Him.

  No doubt, He is coming to judge and make war, but this is NOT the final judgment

  Judge(s) is the Greek word krínō; and means “to separate, distinguish, discriminate between good and evil, select, choose out the good. In the NT, it means to judge, to form or give an opinion after separating and considering the particulars of a case.”

  For some reason, we seem to relish the idea that God will bring about some horrific punishment at the drop of a hat; and yet we don't see that. I picture King Solomon, who listened to the legal proceedings from two harlots about whom a baby belonged (one woman had unknowingly suffocated her baby during the night and chose to swap her dead baby for the other ladies live one.) Solomon, after considering the particulars of the case, gave an opinion, and returned the baby to the correct woman because she had compassion and could not allow for the baby to be cut in half just to satisfy the selfish and foolish desires of the other woman. (Read about this in 1 Kings 3:16-28)

• The young pastor continued to imply that He judges: “against all of His enemies and slays them.”

  If you are going to say something that implies an obliteration of a class of people that you deem unworthy of God's salvation, then you need to back your false and confusing teaching with scripture. The young pastor could not do that.

  A statement I made in a post from April 19, 2022.

  “Indicating that Jesus only kills those who come to do battle seems logical, however, some will actively fight with me about how Jesus kills off everyone but the Christians prior to the millennial reign. If that was the case, why would there be a need for judges seated on thrones during the millennial reign?”

  Back to Revelation, where we see a definition of those who are about to cease to breathe. I say it like that because that is what will happen. 

  The passage below only shows us two beings thrown into the lake of fire, although we know that Satan is also thrown there for a thousand years. So the beast (the antichrist) and the false prophet are the only humans that are there. The rest of the dead – non air-breathers, lie in a state of inactivity awaiting the judgment that only happens at the final throne, which Revelation 20 describes as a great white throne.

  Revelation 19:19-21 NASB (19) And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. (20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (21) And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

  Who is seated upon the horse in Revelation 19?

  Jesus.

  Who is assembled to make war?

  While the armies are NOT defined, it is easy to assume that they are primarily Islamic nations that are currently rising up against Israel.

  So, if you noticed, we have the beast, the false prophet, the kings of the earth, and their armies, which were assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His armies. If the Islamic male, head of household follows their leader and comes to fight against Jesus, are those that he left at home supporters of Jesus? 

  It is probably safe to say, NOT A CHANCE.

  So, it is clear that NOT everyone is killed and denied entrance into the 1000-year reign. If, as some would say, only “Christians” go into the millennial kingdom, then why would God see a need to point this next passage out?

  Revelation 22:14-15 NASB (14) Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. (15) Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

   With Satan put away for 1000 years, there is nothing spiritual to influence people to sin. Lacking a death that would kill the body, and therefore, the sin that lives within the human body, through Adam, these people are still carriers of this sin disease.

Revelation 21:7-8 defines who will eventually end up in the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:7-8 NASB "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (8) "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

This branch off his notes focused upon Revelation 20:4.

Revelation 20:4 BSB  Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

He centered, for a moment, on these words.

• “I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge.”

  Some translations will say “they” instead of those. It seems to me that we need to find the context of who is being referred to when it says those or they. Further evidence as to whom will be seated on those thrones with Jesus can be extracted from Revelation 19.

  Revelation 19:11-14 NASB (11) And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (12) His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. (13) He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. (14) And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.

  So, we see the saints in Revelation 19:14, and we see the martyred saints in Revelation 20:4.

  “And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

This young pastor said, they won't simply be laying back in a recliner, they will be given a job to do; and this is where he took us to 1 Corinthians 6:2.

1 Corinthians 6:2(a) “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”

The young pastor added, with Christ – that is.

Daniel's words seem to say it all.

Daniel 7:27 NKJV  “Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.”

This was originally written as a response to a friend in 2017. It is even more pertinent today as we wait for the rapture of the church.

 

Some interpret 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 as if it is referring to the rapture. They would not be wrong, because the rapture is integrated as closely as possible to God’s wrath, all while keeping the followers of Christ protected from the time of wrath.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 NASB (1) "Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. (2) For you, yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. (3) While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. (7) For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. (8) But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. (9) For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, (10) who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. (11) Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."

Points and context to consider.

1. “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.”

   The word times is the Greek word chronos and can be long or short. Epochs, or as other translations have put it, seasons, is the Greek word kairos. There is a similarity between this word and times, but the word kairos applies to a measure of time or a period when things are brought to a crisis.

   Paul would not have been so presumptuous as to say “you have no need of anything to be written to you” unless he had already spoken to them clearly, distinctly, and with no misunderstanding about what those words meant. Paul's words were adequate and well defined as he spelled out the hope that we have of Jesus coming back in the clouds to collect us, His bride, the church. An event that has little to do with the seven years of God's wrath; an event that is to be unleashed upon the earth only moments after the rapture.

2. “for you, yourselves know perfectly the day ...”

   The question for us today is, what day is Paul talking about? 

   This can either be the day of our gathering back to Jesus as the bride, or it is the day in which God pours out His wrath upon the earth.

   Day seems like such a simple word. “day” is the Greek word hēmera. 

   For the church, it means “the last day of this present age;” the age of grace, or, the end of the church age.

   We need to understand that Paul was specifically speaking of the day in which we depart from this earth. Paul, in his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, said this.

   2 Thessalonians 2:3 NASB (3) "Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,"

   As you can see above the translators followed the pattern established by the state church of England and changed the early and acceptable term, departure, with the knowledge of the King of England in 1769 by using the term apostasy.

   Apostasy means an abandonment. Up to the point that Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, 2025, it could easily be said most people had come find church pointless, and therefore, abandoned the church.

   The problem: apostasia is not the base word from which “they” acquired the translation. The origins of apostasia is aphístēmi (G868), and means to depart.

   The Word Study Dictionary emphasizes the word Departure. “apostasía; gen. apostasías, fem. noun from aphístēmi (G868), to depart. Departure, apostasy.”

   So we can ascertain that the church must depart before the antichrist character can emerge upon the scene. Do not get me wrong, he is currently standing in the shadows and will soon emerge to confer his acceptance of this seven-year peace agreement, which seems to be something that America is trying to shove down Israel's throat as I write this (9/29/2025)

   In Revelation 6:16-17, hemera is one of the defining words pertaining to God's wrath.

   Revelation 6:16-17 NASB (16) and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (17) for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

   This highlighted information is critical to our understanding. It is also clarified with an eye-opening explanation. “Eastern usage of this term differs from our western usage. Any part of a day is counted as a whole day, hence the expression “three days and three nights” does not mean literally three whole days, but at least one whole day plus any part of two other days.”
   Thayer's Greek Definitions

   As I read through the account of Jesus' death and resurrection, I expected to see three full days. No matter what the explanations from "learned" teachers, nothing made sense, that is, until I understood how the Jews understood the concept of three days. We can apply this same concept to the narrative pertaining to the Prophet Jonah. I reference Jonah because Jesus used Jonah as an example of what His own death and resurrection would look like. For me, this only demonstrates how variable God is with His timetable.

3. "The day of the Lord.”

   The day of the Lord only shows up 26 times when you do a search for the phrase using the KJV. “Of the Lord” is one Greek word kurios and means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding.”

The Day of the Lord.

• Isaiah 2:12 AMP “For there shall be a day of the Lord of hosts against all who are proud and haughty and against all who are lifted up--and they shall be brought low--” [Zeph. 2:3; Mal. 4:1.]

  Malachi 4:1 AMP “FOR BEHOLD, the day comes that shall burn like an oven, and all the proud and arrogant, yes, and all that do wickedly and are lawless, shall be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”

• Zephaniah 2:3 declares, “it may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord.”

• 1 Corinthians 5:5 conveys the message that the spirit [of believers] may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

If I were looking for examples of being hid, I would look to Daniel, who was NOT there when his three Hebrew brethren were thrown into the fiery furnace. I could take this to the next step, for the three were NOT harmed in any way. Another example comes from the saga of Noah. When the time for the flood came, God put Noah and his family into the ark and closed the door.

A portion of the passage we were reading tells us in verse nine that God did not appoint us to wrath.

Is this, or does this, define what is coming?

• Isaiah 13:4 explains that it shall come as destruction.

• Isaiah 34:8 expresses that this day is vengeance.

• And Joel 1:15 also says this time is destruction.

• Zephaniah 1:8 calls the day the Lord's sacrifice. [This is God doing the sacrificing.]

• Zephaniah 1:14 states that the mighty shall cry bitterly.

I am convinced that the rapture will be the thing that hides us from the wrath; and, what is coming is destruction.

4. “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;”

   Thieves sneak up on you, but this is also equated to a pregnant woman. If you have never fully experienced this process, you may never understand. Pregnancy does not sneak up on you. You are fully aware of what is going to happen, and you have nine months to prepare. Once the labor pains begin, you have minutes or days.

5. “You are children of light, and the children of day; we are not of the night nor of darkness;”

   I suppose this is telling us that we have NO excuses.

6. “Therefore, let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober.”

   Sleep means to be slothful. Alert tells us to give attention to or take heed.

7. “... be sober, putting on the breastplate or faith ...”

   Sober means to be calm. Calm when you know that horrible things are about to happen.

8. “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Thessalonians 5:9

   Appointed is the Greek word aphístēmi and means to set, put, and place.
   Wrath means temper or violent emotion.
   Salvation is deliverance, preservation, safety, or deliverance from molestation.

   Molestation has its basis in any unwanted harassment or mistreatment.

One of the questions you put forth is,

Why would Paul/God see a need to tell this body about the rapture and their understanding of how this will work, seeing as they would never experience the rapture?

For Paul to say, I have no need to write to you (about the rapture) is indicative of the fact that Paul had already spoken to this body of believers in a clear and concise manner.

The common understanding is that Paul only preached in Thessalonica for three weeks. As I read about Paul’s impact on this community, I am hard-pressed to understand how Paul could do this in only three weeks. Adding to this confusion of mine is the fact that Paul met at the local Synagogue on the Sabbath, a Saturday. We have little additional definition and, therefore, logically assume that Paul was only at the Synagogue on three Saturdays. Based upon how we do church in the modern world, that gives Paul about three hours of teaching time; that is if they wholeheartedly gave the pulpit to this stranger.

[Ask yourselves, did these people know that Saul, the pharisee, now a follower of Christ, was the skilled theologian among the Jewish council and therefore equipped to teach them from, say, Deuteronomy? Or, as a follower of Christ, was he welcome to bring a message perceived as heresy among the devout Jews? Neither of these would make sense unless they had a policy that allowed people to speak, as long as they were within traditional boundaries.]

What are we doing here?

We are applying Gentile, Sunday School mentality, which leads you to believe that your mind and the ability to speak only works on Sunday when the church is open.

The Biblical Illustrator commentary says this about Paul's interactions in Thessalonica.

“The (book of) Acts contain little or no account of the apostle’s labors among the Gentiles. We only read of three weeks’ preaching in the synagogue, followed by the conversion of many Jews, “devout Greeks,” and “chief women.” Upon this the unbelieving Jews, enlisting the “roughs” of Thessalonica, created a riot which led to the departure of Paul and Silas by night. It is evident, however, from the Epistle, that the apostle’s work here was both more extensive and of longer duration than the history would seem to intimate (insinuate.)”

Why should they “know” perfectly well?

They did not have Bibles from which to assure themselves or train their thinking once Paul was gone; they only had the words and actions of Paul and a handful of people who could remember what Paul said and the fervor with which he delivered the message.

Fortunately, we have other evidence, for Paul, in writing this second letter, states,

(9) For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. (10) You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; (11) just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, (12) so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. 1 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NASB

Based upon what Paul said about their first stay in Thessalonica, he, along with others, worked to support themselves. The idea of working night and day may have included additional time spent exhorting, encouraging, and imploring each one of you... so that you would walk in a manner worthy of God. Everything they did, they did in a manner that was correct according to Jewish standards and traditions; and that their lives demonstrated that they were blameless and without fault before these people.

In time, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to continue preaching this gospel of Jesus, that he had heard Paul preach, not only in Thessalonica but also in Berea.

What did they now know?

“The day,” in Jewish custom, was to understand three days as, one entire day, and any part of two others. This makes Jesus' own three days very understandable. Therefore, the day can also be seen as “the week of years” that we also see in Daniel, something that also operates on the same principle; it is a variable.

I am convinced that the church's rapture will be the thing that hides us from the wrath.

One last aspect of your question.

Why would God think He needed to share this information with the church (the body of believers) in Thessalonica?

1. They were struggling with fear.

   We don't really understand why until 1 Thessalonians 4.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NASB)

They thought that Christ had already come; that they had been left behind, and now needed to be reinforced in their understanding and faith. I am convinced that we all, at some point, need to be supported because we have constant attacks on our relationship with Jesus.

How does Satan attack?

He attacks the foundations of our faith, understanding, relationships, righteousness, and moral standing.

1. God is NOT merely sharing this information with one small group of people (such as the church in Thessalonica;) this is being shared with the family that is to come, and, we are that family.

   2 Timothy 3:16 NLT instructs us that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

Paul’s direction is always to stay alert as we wait for the Lord's return. I can see many benefits to living like this, in a calm, dignified manner, as it shows people what God is like.

What I see others posting is high watch times and days. September 30, that's today; October 3, and October 6,7.

Eyes open, hearts on fire as we wait for Jesus return.