The Wrath Of God. Follow Up

Q

Re: The Wrath Of God. I’ve just read the subject article and I have a question” At the end, under “What about us,” 1 Thess. 1:10 is cited, followed by this parentheses: (The Greek word translated “from” in this verse refers to both the time and place of the coming wrath, so we won’t be present when it happens and we won’t be present where it happens.) I assume Jack was referring to the word “from,” which Paul used three times in the verse. How did you determine that the preposition “from” refers to both the time and place of the coming wrath?

A

It’s true that in the English translation of 1 Thes. 1:10 the word “from” appears three times. But Paul wrote in Greek and used two different words. In the first two cases he used the Greek word “ek” which literally means “out of” or “away from”. It’s the same word Jesus used in Rev. 3:10 when He promised to keep the Church out of the time of trial coming upon the whole earth.

In the third instance, Paul used the Greek word “apo”, which has several meanings all of which refer to the separation of a part (in this case the church) from the whole (mankind). This separation can include both physical and temporal distance. In other words, out of the place (physical separation) and time (temporal separation) of the coming wrath.