1 Thessalonians 2:16 Commentary and Bible Study

The Lord Jesus Christ said to them, ‘Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered’ – the word he actually used was ‘you forbade’, and this is so serious. They did it, in the plan of God, ‘to fill up their sins always’, which means to complete the measure of their sin. The apostle in effect says they could sin no worse, no more than to be persecutors of the truth and to prevent others from receiving it. Then the result: ‘For the wrath [of God] is come upon them to the uttermost.’ They were under judgement and they were rejected of God. The era of Jewish privilege in which century after century, God would route all his revelation and his dealings through the Jewish nation (what a privilege) was at an end. After centuries of warning, the period of Jewish privilege has ended. Not all the Jews would perish; of course not, because just as with Gentiles an elect remnant of Jews will be saved. God will save a great number in his grace and mercy and bring them to repentance. But for the nation as a whole, there is no more special dealing. But that is as much as the apostle will say, and then he proceeds to verse 17.