We are concluding Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians today. He makes a prayer request for himself and for the other apostles and teachers. Then he issues a warning about those who are able to work but instead are idle and are stirring up trouble. Then he closes with words of peace for the believers of Thessalonica.
"As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith." (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2) There's nothing wrong with praying for ourselves or with requesting prayer for ourselves. Paul and the others who were teaching the gospel were putting their freedom and even their lives in danger. As he said in his first letter to the Corinthians, they were endangering themselves "every hour" and facing death every day. (1 Corinthians 15:30-31a) Naturally these gospel workers desire prayers. They desire prayers for their safety and they desire prayers that the gospel would continue to spread so that more and more people will come to faith in Christ.
Paul has given the Thessalonians instruction and encouragement in his two letters to them, and now he announces the confidence he has in them that they will stand firm. More than this, he announces his confidence that the Lord is able to make them stand firm. "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance." (2 Thessalonian 3:3-5) Christ persevered to the end, even though He always knew that the tortures of the cross awaited Him. Can the One who faithfully endured so much not also empower us to persevere to the end? Of course He can, and in verse 5 we find Paul promising us that we can have "Christ's perseverance". The Lord Himself will give us the strength to remain faithful to Him no matter what Satan or this fallen world throws at us.
Next Paul reminds his readers that it doesn't honor the Lord to be idle. It doesn't honor the Lord to take advantage of others. If anyone is able to perform good honest work, that person should do so. When a person has too much empty time on his hands, he will be tempted to fill it with the wrong things. Paul tells those who are working hard to avoid spending time with those who love being idle, for the idle attitude might rub off on them. "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.'" (2 Thessalonians 3:6-10) Paul isn't talking about people who are truly unable to work; he's talking about people who are able to work but are unwilling to work.
"We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we commend and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat." (@ Thessalonians 3:11-12) It seems there were some in Thessalonica who used their "volunteer church work" as an excuse for not earning a living. They weren't really working in the church but merely giving the appearance of being busy. They were showing up but were spending their time running from person to person gossiping and stirring up trouble.
Paul has words of encouragement for those who are already working hard as they should be. "And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good." (2 Thessalonians 3:13) Earning an honest living honors the Lord. The Lord isn't going to only reward us for work done in the church; He's going to reward us for our faithfulness to our jobs. He notices every time we do something that is right, even if it's something small, and He will say to us someday, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." (Matthew 25:23)
Paul has already told the believers to follow the example of the apostles and teachers when it comes to making an honest living. He fears that the attitude of idleness might rub off on them if they associate with those who are being lazy. In addition, not spending time with these lazy busybodies might lead the busybodies to repent of their poor attitude. "Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard them as an enemy, but warn them as you would a fellow believer." (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15) He says, "Don't hang out with them. Maybe they will miss your company and will realize that you are avoiding them because they aren't doing what's right. But when you run into them somewhere, don't treat them as if they are outcasts. Remember that these are your brothers and sisters in Christ. Warn them about their wrong attitudes, but do it in a loving and concerned way."
He closes his second letter with words of peace. "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." (2 Thessalonians 3:16-18) Paul dictated most of his letters and signed them at the end. We learned in his letters to the Thessalonians that some false teachers claimed Paul said things he didn't say. He's telling the believers that they will know whether he said something or not by checking to see whether his signature is at the end of any letter they are shown. If someone claims Paul wrote a letter, but his signature is not on it or if there's a signature on it that doesn't match his handwriting, then they will know it's a forgery.
The best test of any teaching is to compare it to what the Holy Bible says. In Paul's day the New Testament hadn't been published and distributed, so people had to be careful whether they were reading a genuine letter from him or not. In our day we are blessed to have the Old Testament and the New Testament. We can compare the words of any pastor or evangelist or teacher with what God has said. If something we are being taught contradicts the word of God, we need to stop listening to it. We need to stop associating with anyone who teaches false doctrine. The word of God is the only real truth there is, and all doctrine must be tested by it. Knowing and studying God's word will protect us from falling for lies and it will protect us from committing many sins, as the psalmist said: "I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11)
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 14, Those Who Love The Darkness Versus Those Who Love The Light
For the past two days we've been looking at a prophecy regarding the evil political leader who will be Satan's man during the last days known as the Great Tribulation. Paul said that this man will be given the ability to put on displays of "signs and wonders" so he can deceive people and gain followers from among those who have refused to follow the Lord. This is where we pick up today, but Paul will also speak of the glorious future that awaits those who have chosen to follow the Lord.
We begin with a passage that might seem puzzling at first, but we will see that the Lord is merely giving people what they really want. We are going to combine the last half of verse 10, which we studied yesterday, with verses 11 and 12 so that they will be made more clear to us. "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not loved the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12) What "lie" is Paul talking about? The lie that the Antichrist will tell---the deceptive show that he will put on for the world. Those who have rejected God's truth will believe the lie because they will want to believe it. Basically, what's going to happen is that God will say to them, "Fine. Have it your way." Or, as the late evangelist and author C.S. Lewis put it, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
God isn't going to force anyone to be deceived and to fall for a lie, but He's going to allow those who love the darkness rather than the light (John 3:19) to have what they want. The Apostle John said that people who prefer darkness to light are doing so because their deeds are evil. Darkness conceals; light reveals. If you recall from the Old Testament, King Saul chose darkness over light, and God allowed him to descend into madness. God took His blessing and the throne of Israel away from Saul and gave them to David instead because David was "a man after His own heart". (1 Samuel 13:14) David was not a perfect man, but he was a man who sought the Lord with his whole heart. He loved the Lord and wanted to understand His laws and wanted to have a close and personal relationship with Him. Because David wanted these things, God granted them to him. Because Saul did not want these things, God allowed him to be who he really was: a man who was wicked and so pathologically insecure and so jealous that he eventually was overcome by paranoid delusions. Paul is saying that when the Antichrist lies to the world, those who have no heart for God will fall for his lies because they want to fall for them. They don't want to know God or to understand and obey His laws. Because they will love the darkness rather than the light, God is going to allow them to be who they really are and He's going to let them do what they really want to do.
In contrast to the fate of the wicked, the fate of the Lord's people is going to be glorious. "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) Paul says, "My friends and I are thankful for you. God loves you too, because you believed the gospel that we preached to you. Because you believed, you will share in the glory of Christ." We who believe have become children of God, which makes us "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ". (Romans 8:17) We can't even imagine the glorious things our inheritance contains! God is going to give His Son nothing but the best, and the Son is going to share it with us. We are going to have to wait until we get to heaven and see this wonderful inheritance with our own eyes before we can fully understand it. "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no mind has conceived---the things God has prepared for those who love Him." (Isaiah 64:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9)
"So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15) Paul instructs them, "Don't stray from the doctrines we've taught you. Don't listen to false teachers or fall for their lies. If you keep the truth of God's word in your hearts, you won't be deceived." Earlier in the week we talked about why Paul has been giving additional information regarding the last days. It was because some were teaching the Thessalonian believers a false doctrine. These people were telling them that their present troubles were a sign that the Great Tribulation had already begun. Because this lie worried the believers, in his two letters to them Paul restated the way events are going to unfold in the end times. He first described Christ calling the church out of the world, then he moved on to the subjects of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. He discussed these events in this order because that's the order in which they will come to pass. We will be taking a closer look as these things when we arrive at the book of Revelation. And when we do get there, we are going to dispel the myth that Revelation is too symbolic and too difficult to understand. We're going to look at it with an easy, step-by-step method by which we can all understand what the Lord is telling us. He wouldn't give us a book that's impossible to understand; what would be the point of that? He gave us the book of Revelation because He wants us to understand it.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) This is a beautiful prayer! We are living in a harsh world where everyone faces discouragement from time to time. There have been days in my life where I don't think I could have even gotten out of bed if I had not known that my Redeemer lives and that He loves me. Because of Him, there is always hope---hope for this life and the certain promise of a glorious eternal life to come. We will all face at least one situation in our lives that looks hopeless. And perhaps it is hopeless if it depends only on human ability. But with God all things are possible. Nothing is too hard for Him. I've had some situations in my life that truly were hopeless if they depended only what a human being could do. But God stepped in and miracles happened. All the glory goes to Him. So, my friends, may our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. May the God of all comfort be with you. May the God who can do all things step into your impossible situations and turn them around for your good and for His glory.
We begin with a passage that might seem puzzling at first, but we will see that the Lord is merely giving people what they really want. We are going to combine the last half of verse 10, which we studied yesterday, with verses 11 and 12 so that they will be made more clear to us. "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not loved the truth but have delighted in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12) What "lie" is Paul talking about? The lie that the Antichrist will tell---the deceptive show that he will put on for the world. Those who have rejected God's truth will believe the lie because they will want to believe it. Basically, what's going to happen is that God will say to them, "Fine. Have it your way." Or, as the late evangelist and author C.S. Lewis put it, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"
God isn't going to force anyone to be deceived and to fall for a lie, but He's going to allow those who love the darkness rather than the light (John 3:19) to have what they want. The Apostle John said that people who prefer darkness to light are doing so because their deeds are evil. Darkness conceals; light reveals. If you recall from the Old Testament, King Saul chose darkness over light, and God allowed him to descend into madness. God took His blessing and the throne of Israel away from Saul and gave them to David instead because David was "a man after His own heart". (1 Samuel 13:14) David was not a perfect man, but he was a man who sought the Lord with his whole heart. He loved the Lord and wanted to understand His laws and wanted to have a close and personal relationship with Him. Because David wanted these things, God granted them to him. Because Saul did not want these things, God allowed him to be who he really was: a man who was wicked and so pathologically insecure and so jealous that he eventually was overcome by paranoid delusions. Paul is saying that when the Antichrist lies to the world, those who have no heart for God will fall for his lies because they want to fall for them. They don't want to know God or to understand and obey His laws. Because they will love the darkness rather than the light, God is going to allow them to be who they really are and He's going to let them do what they really want to do.
In contrast to the fate of the wicked, the fate of the Lord's people is going to be glorious. "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14) Paul says, "My friends and I are thankful for you. God loves you too, because you believed the gospel that we preached to you. Because you believed, you will share in the glory of Christ." We who believe have become children of God, which makes us "heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ". (Romans 8:17) We can't even imagine the glorious things our inheritance contains! God is going to give His Son nothing but the best, and the Son is going to share it with us. We are going to have to wait until we get to heaven and see this wonderful inheritance with our own eyes before we can fully understand it. "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no mind has conceived---the things God has prepared for those who love Him." (Isaiah 64:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9)
"So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15) Paul instructs them, "Don't stray from the doctrines we've taught you. Don't listen to false teachers or fall for their lies. If you keep the truth of God's word in your hearts, you won't be deceived." Earlier in the week we talked about why Paul has been giving additional information regarding the last days. It was because some were teaching the Thessalonian believers a false doctrine. These people were telling them that their present troubles were a sign that the Great Tribulation had already begun. Because this lie worried the believers, in his two letters to them Paul restated the way events are going to unfold in the end times. He first described Christ calling the church out of the world, then he moved on to the subjects of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation. He discussed these events in this order because that's the order in which they will come to pass. We will be taking a closer look as these things when we arrive at the book of Revelation. And when we do get there, we are going to dispel the myth that Revelation is too symbolic and too difficult to understand. We're going to look at it with an easy, step-by-step method by which we can all understand what the Lord is telling us. He wouldn't give us a book that's impossible to understand; what would be the point of that? He gave us the book of Revelation because He wants us to understand it.
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) This is a beautiful prayer! We are living in a harsh world where everyone faces discouragement from time to time. There have been days in my life where I don't think I could have even gotten out of bed if I had not known that my Redeemer lives and that He loves me. Because of Him, there is always hope---hope for this life and the certain promise of a glorious eternal life to come. We will all face at least one situation in our lives that looks hopeless. And perhaps it is hopeless if it depends only on human ability. But with God all things are possible. Nothing is too hard for Him. I've had some situations in my life that truly were hopeless if they depended only what a human being could do. But God stepped in and miracles happened. All the glory goes to Him. So, my friends, may our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. May the God of all comfort be with you. May the God who can do all things step into your impossible situations and turn them around for your good and for His glory.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 13, The Antichrist, Part Two
We are studying the one Paul calls "the man of lawlessness". Some people have troubled the Thessalonian believers by telling them that they are living in the end times, otherwise known as the Great Tribulation. While it's true they are suffering hard times, they haven't been left behind to endure the days of God's wrath. As Paul assured them at the end of his first letter, they have not been appointed "to suffer wrath but to receive salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ". (1 Thessalonians 5:9)
Since he is speaking about the days of wrath, he discusses a person who will be in political power during those days. This person is usually known as "the Antichrist". He will be everything Christ is not, but he will come to power for a season during the last days. Satan has always tried to imitate God, and just as God sent into the world the One who is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being" (Hebrews 1:3), Satan will also send into the world one who is like him---one who will give himself to Satan to do his will.
We only have a few verses to study today but they are quite complicated, more complicated than we can fully look into in the time we have, but I hope you will study with me when we reach the end of the New Testament and take an in-depth look at the book of Revelation.
Paul reminds his readers that he spoke of the end times and the Antichrist while he was with them in person. He says of the wicked one, "He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?" (2 Thessalonians 2:5) It was natural that these believers would want to know the future of the church and the future of the world, so Paul touched on these subjects while he was with them. In addition, he speaks of these things in his letters to them, reminding them in the first letter that Christ is going to call His church out of the world, and reminding them in this second letter of the dark days that will come upon the world after the church has been removed from it. During the days of the peace treaty that the Antichrist will broker in the Middle East, the temple will be rebuilt. But when he breaks his own covenant, he will set himself up in the temple (perhaps as an image to be worshiped) and in those days the prophecy given to Daniel will be fulfilled regarding "the abomination of desolation" in the temple. The Antichrist will desecrate the temple so that it cannot be used to worship God.
"And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7) The Apostle John said a similar thing about the lawlessness that is already in the world: "This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:3b) John wasn't saying that the Antichrist was already in the world in the first century BC, but that the attitude of the antichrist was already present. This is the attitude that opposes the truth of the Lord, that refuses to bow the knee to Him or to be obedient to His laws and commandments, and that persecutes those who are faithful to Him. Paul agrees with John, saying that opposition to Christ is already in the world, and that the spirit of lawlessness is ready at any moment to inhabit the one who will embody all the wickedness of the devil himself.
But this won't happen until the appointed time. Someone is holding the emergence of the Antichrist back until the time chosen by God. Who is it? Who is it who is going to be "taken out of the way"? There are many theories about this, ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous. If you have time you might want to Google the subject because there are far too many theories for us to discuss here. But the one that I feel makes the most sense, and the one which a number of well-respected Bible scholars of our time believe in, is that Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit literally indwells the people of Christ. While the church remains on the earth, the Holy Spirit is present in the world in a bodily form, so to speak. The church is a sanctifying presence in an unbelieving world, just as a Christian is a sanctifying presence in a home where there are unbelievers. (1 Corinthians 7:14) The people of Christ are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), so you can just imagine how dark it will be when the church goes home to be with Christ. Think about how many charitable organizations will cease to exist. Think about how many good deeds will cease to be performed. The sanctifying presence of the church will be absent, and that is when wickedness will have free reign for a season.
As we will see when we arrive at the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit will still perform His office of convicting people of sin and leading them to Christ during the Great Tribulation. It will still be possible for those left behind to be saved, but the Holy Spirit will not be bodily present in the form of the church as He is now. It won't be as easy then as it is now to hear the gospel and come to a saving knowledge of Christ. People won't be free to openly carry Bibles or gather together in churches for worship or be able to turn on radio and TV stations to hear the gospel. The Antichrist is not going to allow open worship of anyone but himself, as Paul explained above in verse 4.
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the splendor of His coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:8) The event known as "The Second Coming Of Christ" is not to be confused with what is known as "the rapture of the church". These are two separate events. As we learned in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Christ won't set foot on the earth when He calls the church out of the world, but He will call the church up to be with Him. The Second Coming of Christ will take place when He returns to the earth at the end of the seven years known as the Great Tribulation. That is when He will overthrow the one known as the Antichrist.
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) Satan will give the Antichrist the ability to perform signs and wonders. I don't know whether these will be genuine "miracles" or merely the deceptive works of a wicked magician, but those who refuse to accept the truth of God's word will fall for these tricks. It's thought by some scholars and theologians that the Antichrist might stage a fake resurrection, based on the vision the Apostle John has of him in Revelation 13:3 in which the beast has a fatal head wound but is healed. John says the sight of this will fill the whole world with wonder and it will cause the unbelieving world to believe in and follow the Antichrist.
We don't ever want to give too much attention to the works of Satan or to spend too much time dwelling on his evil works. Prophecy is an interesting subject, but as the church we are not to concern ourselves overmuch with observing world events in an effort to determine whether the removal of the church is imminent or whether the man who will become the Antichrist has already been born. Our job is to fulfill the great commission by getting the gospel out to as many people as we possibly can. We aren't to be looking fearfully around us for signs of the end, but we are to be living as if Christ might call us up to be with Him at any time. If we keep that attitude, we are going to have a sense of urgency about using our time on earth to tell as many people as possible about Christ.
Since he is speaking about the days of wrath, he discusses a person who will be in political power during those days. This person is usually known as "the Antichrist". He will be everything Christ is not, but he will come to power for a season during the last days. Satan has always tried to imitate God, and just as God sent into the world the One who is "the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being" (Hebrews 1:3), Satan will also send into the world one who is like him---one who will give himself to Satan to do his will.
We only have a few verses to study today but they are quite complicated, more complicated than we can fully look into in the time we have, but I hope you will study with me when we reach the end of the New Testament and take an in-depth look at the book of Revelation.
Paul reminds his readers that he spoke of the end times and the Antichrist while he was with them in person. He says of the wicked one, "He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?" (2 Thessalonians 2:5) It was natural that these believers would want to know the future of the church and the future of the world, so Paul touched on these subjects while he was with them. In addition, he speaks of these things in his letters to them, reminding them in the first letter that Christ is going to call His church out of the world, and reminding them in this second letter of the dark days that will come upon the world after the church has been removed from it. During the days of the peace treaty that the Antichrist will broker in the Middle East, the temple will be rebuilt. But when he breaks his own covenant, he will set himself up in the temple (perhaps as an image to be worshiped) and in those days the prophecy given to Daniel will be fulfilled regarding "the abomination of desolation" in the temple. The Antichrist will desecrate the temple so that it cannot be used to worship God.
"And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way." (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7) The Apostle John said a similar thing about the lawlessness that is already in the world: "This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." (1 John 4:3b) John wasn't saying that the Antichrist was already in the world in the first century BC, but that the attitude of the antichrist was already present. This is the attitude that opposes the truth of the Lord, that refuses to bow the knee to Him or to be obedient to His laws and commandments, and that persecutes those who are faithful to Him. Paul agrees with John, saying that opposition to Christ is already in the world, and that the spirit of lawlessness is ready at any moment to inhabit the one who will embody all the wickedness of the devil himself.
But this won't happen until the appointed time. Someone is holding the emergence of the Antichrist back until the time chosen by God. Who is it? Who is it who is going to be "taken out of the way"? There are many theories about this, ranging from the reasonable to the ridiculous. If you have time you might want to Google the subject because there are far too many theories for us to discuss here. But the one that I feel makes the most sense, and the one which a number of well-respected Bible scholars of our time believe in, is that Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit literally indwells the people of Christ. While the church remains on the earth, the Holy Spirit is present in the world in a bodily form, so to speak. The church is a sanctifying presence in an unbelieving world, just as a Christian is a sanctifying presence in a home where there are unbelievers. (1 Corinthians 7:14) The people of Christ are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), so you can just imagine how dark it will be when the church goes home to be with Christ. Think about how many charitable organizations will cease to exist. Think about how many good deeds will cease to be performed. The sanctifying presence of the church will be absent, and that is when wickedness will have free reign for a season.
As we will see when we arrive at the book of Revelation, the Holy Spirit will still perform His office of convicting people of sin and leading them to Christ during the Great Tribulation. It will still be possible for those left behind to be saved, but the Holy Spirit will not be bodily present in the form of the church as He is now. It won't be as easy then as it is now to hear the gospel and come to a saving knowledge of Christ. People won't be free to openly carry Bibles or gather together in churches for worship or be able to turn on radio and TV stations to hear the gospel. The Antichrist is not going to allow open worship of anyone but himself, as Paul explained above in verse 4.
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the splendor of His coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:8) The event known as "The Second Coming Of Christ" is not to be confused with what is known as "the rapture of the church". These are two separate events. As we learned in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, Christ won't set foot on the earth when He calls the church out of the world, but He will call the church up to be with Him. The Second Coming of Christ will take place when He returns to the earth at the end of the seven years known as the Great Tribulation. That is when He will overthrow the one known as the Antichrist.
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) Satan will give the Antichrist the ability to perform signs and wonders. I don't know whether these will be genuine "miracles" or merely the deceptive works of a wicked magician, but those who refuse to accept the truth of God's word will fall for these tricks. It's thought by some scholars and theologians that the Antichrist might stage a fake resurrection, based on the vision the Apostle John has of him in Revelation 13:3 in which the beast has a fatal head wound but is healed. John says the sight of this will fill the whole world with wonder and it will cause the unbelieving world to believe in and follow the Antichrist.
We don't ever want to give too much attention to the works of Satan or to spend too much time dwelling on his evil works. Prophecy is an interesting subject, but as the church we are not to concern ourselves overmuch with observing world events in an effort to determine whether the removal of the church is imminent or whether the man who will become the Antichrist has already been born. Our job is to fulfill the great commission by getting the gospel out to as many people as we possibly can. We aren't to be looking fearfully around us for signs of the end, but we are to be living as if Christ might call us up to be with Him at any time. If we keep that attitude, we are going to have a sense of urgency about using our time on earth to tell as many people as possible about Christ.
Monday, March 4, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 12, The Antichrist, Part One
Paul's letters to the Thessalonian believers have so far discussed the return of Christ for His church and the day of God's judgment. Yesterday he spoke about the wicked people who have been persecuting the believers, and he assured the believers that God would not let their tormentors go unpunished. Naturally, then, since he is speaking of the end times and of the judgment of evil, he now must speak of the most evil person who will ever live on the face of the earth: the one known as the Antichrist. Since this is a very complicated subject, we are going to be splitting it into two parts and studying the first half of this passage today and the second half tomorrow.
There has been someone in every era who could have filled the position of Satan's man---the Antichrist---if it had been the time chosen by God for the end, otherwise known as the "Great Tribulation". Not long after Paul wrote his letters to the Thessalonians, Emperor Nero became so insanely filled with hate for the Christians that, if his day had been the day chosen by God for the Great Tribulation, I think Nero would have been the Antichrist. Later in history, perhaps Adolf Hitler would have been the devil's emissary if Hitler's era had been the time of the end. In more ancient days, the Antichrist could have been Antiochus Epiphanes, whom we spoke of in great detail when we did our study of the book of Daniel. We could go on and on naming wicked world leaders who could easily have stepped into the shoes of the Antichrist, for there have always been men willing to do the devil's bidding.
But today Paul speaks of the one who will be the Antichrist of the end times, and though it's unprofitable to spend our time worrying about and speculating whether this man may already be in the world, Paul is going to tell us what his character is going to be like.
The apostle is concerned about the lies of some who are trying to tell believers they've missed the return of Christ for His church. I believe, as do most mainstream Bible scholars and theologians (who know far more about the Scriptures than I do) in a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church. I don't believe Christ will leave His bride here to endure the worst days this world has ever known. But Paul has been made aware that false teachers are telling the believers that the troubles they were facing were proof that they were about to enter the Great Tribulation. He wants to set the minds of the believers at ease, so he points out that the end will not come until the Antichrist has had his day. "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us---whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter---asserting that the day of the Lord has already come." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)
It's bad enough that false teachers are telling lies to the church, but they're claiming that they got their message straight from Paul or from the other apostles or teachers. They are saying such things either to lend credibility to their untruths, or else they have completely misunderstood what they've been taught about the end times. To back up their misconceptions, they are pointing to things Paul has said in his letters and are twisting his words to suit their own beliefs.
Christ's return for His church (often referred to as the rapture) won't be a secret thing that the Thessalonians have to fear they might have missed. The sudden disappearance of millions of people from the earth is not a thing that can go unnoticed. The Thessalonian believers, who are as saved as anyone else who has trusted in Christ, haven't missed the rapture of the church and they haven't been left behind to endure the Great Tribulation. If Christ had called His church out of the world, the Thessalonian believers wouldn't still be in the world. It's true they were living in troubled times, but their troubles weren't a sign that they were left on the earth to endure the terrible days when God will pour out His wrath on wickedness. If they had indeed been left behind, there would have been no doubt about it, for not only would the church be missing from the world, but the Antichrist would be having his day in the spotlight. It would be quite evident to them that the most wicked man to ever live was enjoying world power for a short season.
Will this person come to power before Christ calls the church out of the world? The Scriptures aren't quite clear on this subject. But the Scriptures are quite clear that the church will be taken from the scene before the Antichrist, who will earn his political position by brokering a seven-year peace treaty, breaks the treaty midway through its term. The second half of the seven years is when he will show himself for who he really is, and during those days is when God will begin to pour out judgment on evil, so at some time before then Christ will fulfill this promise to the church, "Since you have kept My command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth." (Revelation 3:10)
So, keeping all this in mind, Paul reassures the Thessalonian believers that they are not living in the days of the Great Tribulation. No prophecies remain to be fulfilled before Christ calls His church out of the world, but some things still need to happen before the days of the Great Tribulation begin. "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction." (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
As the people of Christ, we don't need to look around us in fear trying to determine whether the "man of lawlessness" is already on the rise. We don't have to be obsessed with studying the news reports for signs that the end is near. Our job is to keep on doing what Christ commissioned us to do, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20a) I love prophecy, and you may recall that I did a study on the book of Revelation some years back, and I intend to do a new study on Revelation when we get to the end of the New Testament. But our focus should be on winning souls to Christ, not on looking for signs that the end is imminent. We are to be sharing the gospel and living out the gospel so that as many people as possible will not face the wrath of God. While we live on this earth, we are to be about our Lord's business, and that business is leading others to salvation.
There has been someone in every era who could have filled the position of Satan's man---the Antichrist---if it had been the time chosen by God for the end, otherwise known as the "Great Tribulation". Not long after Paul wrote his letters to the Thessalonians, Emperor Nero became so insanely filled with hate for the Christians that, if his day had been the day chosen by God for the Great Tribulation, I think Nero would have been the Antichrist. Later in history, perhaps Adolf Hitler would have been the devil's emissary if Hitler's era had been the time of the end. In more ancient days, the Antichrist could have been Antiochus Epiphanes, whom we spoke of in great detail when we did our study of the book of Daniel. We could go on and on naming wicked world leaders who could easily have stepped into the shoes of the Antichrist, for there have always been men willing to do the devil's bidding.
But today Paul speaks of the one who will be the Antichrist of the end times, and though it's unprofitable to spend our time worrying about and speculating whether this man may already be in the world, Paul is going to tell us what his character is going to be like.
The apostle is concerned about the lies of some who are trying to tell believers they've missed the return of Christ for His church. I believe, as do most mainstream Bible scholars and theologians (who know far more about the Scriptures than I do) in a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church. I don't believe Christ will leave His bride here to endure the worst days this world has ever known. But Paul has been made aware that false teachers are telling the believers that the troubles they were facing were proof that they were about to enter the Great Tribulation. He wants to set the minds of the believers at ease, so he points out that the end will not come until the Antichrist has had his day. "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us---whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter---asserting that the day of the Lord has already come." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)
It's bad enough that false teachers are telling lies to the church, but they're claiming that they got their message straight from Paul or from the other apostles or teachers. They are saying such things either to lend credibility to their untruths, or else they have completely misunderstood what they've been taught about the end times. To back up their misconceptions, they are pointing to things Paul has said in his letters and are twisting his words to suit their own beliefs.
Christ's return for His church (often referred to as the rapture) won't be a secret thing that the Thessalonians have to fear they might have missed. The sudden disappearance of millions of people from the earth is not a thing that can go unnoticed. The Thessalonian believers, who are as saved as anyone else who has trusted in Christ, haven't missed the rapture of the church and they haven't been left behind to endure the Great Tribulation. If Christ had called His church out of the world, the Thessalonian believers wouldn't still be in the world. It's true they were living in troubled times, but their troubles weren't a sign that they were left on the earth to endure the terrible days when God will pour out His wrath on wickedness. If they had indeed been left behind, there would have been no doubt about it, for not only would the church be missing from the world, but the Antichrist would be having his day in the spotlight. It would be quite evident to them that the most wicked man to ever live was enjoying world power for a short season.
Will this person come to power before Christ calls the church out of the world? The Scriptures aren't quite clear on this subject. But the Scriptures are quite clear that the church will be taken from the scene before the Antichrist, who will earn his political position by brokering a seven-year peace treaty, breaks the treaty midway through its term. The second half of the seven years is when he will show himself for who he really is, and during those days is when God will begin to pour out judgment on evil, so at some time before then Christ will fulfill this promise to the church, "Since you have kept My command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth." (Revelation 3:10)
So, keeping all this in mind, Paul reassures the Thessalonian believers that they are not living in the days of the Great Tribulation. No prophecies remain to be fulfilled before Christ calls His church out of the world, but some things still need to happen before the days of the Great Tribulation begin. "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction." (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
As the people of Christ, we don't need to look around us in fear trying to determine whether the "man of lawlessness" is already on the rise. We don't have to be obsessed with studying the news reports for signs that the end is near. Our job is to keep on doing what Christ commissioned us to do, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20a) I love prophecy, and you may recall that I did a study on the book of Revelation some years back, and I intend to do a new study on Revelation when we get to the end of the New Testament. But our focus should be on winning souls to Christ, not on looking for signs that the end is imminent. We are to be sharing the gospel and living out the gospel so that as many people as possible will not face the wrath of God. While we live on this earth, we are to be about our Lord's business, and that business is leading others to salvation.
Sunday, March 3, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 11, God Will Bring Justice
We begin Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians today and in our passage he reassures his readers that God is just. He is going to judge every wicked thing. Why should this knowledge make us rejoice? Take a quick scan of the news headlines or turn your TV to one of the cable news networks for a few minutes and you'll see why. If we ever harbored any doubts that we are living in the last days, the news will swiftly change our minds when we learn of the things humans do to their fellow man and to the creatures of this earth. God isn't letting anyone get away with anything, although it might seem to us that judgment is a long time coming. But God has appointed a day in which He will judge all wickedness, and as His people we should rejoice in that knowledge.
The believers at Thessalonica are enduring persecutions, trials, and suffering. They are wondering when it will end---if it will end. They are wondering why God's judgment hasn't already fallen on their enemies and they want to know what will be the final fate of evil people. Paul's words in the first chapter of this letter answer their questions.
He begins by reminding the Thessalonians that although the enemies of the gospel are not thankful for them, he and his friends are. In fact, he and his friends admire the faith of the Thessalonians so much that they are using them as an example when they speak to other churches. "Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." (2 Thessalonians 1:1-4)
Who was persecuting the Christians of Thessalonica? The Bible doesn't really tell us. I tried to do some research on the subject and I found that there is little to no historical information about it. Scholars have speculated on the source of the persecution, but no one knows for sure. When the church first began in Jerusalem, it was persecuted by the same religious leaders who had handed Jesus over to Pilate. In other cities where the apostles taught the gospel, they were opposed by some of the people from the synagogues, meaning they were opposed by a group made up of Jews and of Gentile converts to Judaism. (Please keep in mind that most of the Jews who did not convert to Christianity did not persecute the Christians in any way. They lived peacefully side by side with Christians and, although they didn't share their beliefs, they didn't stir up trouble against them.) But late in the reign of Emperor Nero, during whose reign Paul ended up a prisoner in Rome and during whose reign he was beheaded, the enemies the Christians most had to fear were Gentiles. It became as dangerous for Christians to be living in the territories of the Roman Empire as it would later be for Jews to be living in Nazi Germany. Nero was the Adolf Hitler of his day, hating the church with the same type of insane, satanic hatred that Hitler harbored for the Jews.
But the Thessalonians are standing firm in the face of all opposition, and Paul commends them for it. "All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering." (2 Thessalonians 1:5) He says, "See, God knew what He was doing when He called you! He knew what brave soldiers of Christ you would be. He knew He could count on you to stand firm in faith even while the world around you is going mad."
They need not fear that God doesn't see their troubles or that He will not judge those who trouble them. "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)
Fire is often used metaphorically in the Scriptures. For the believer, the trials of this world are sometimes compared to the refining fire a goldsmith uses. Putting precious metals through the fire causes the impurities to rise to the top where they can be skimmed off, causing the finished product to be far more beautiful and valuable than it would have been otherwise. For the unbeliever, fire is related to judgment---to the burning up of the wicked person's evil works. In that case, the fire means the loss of the useless and wicked pursuits of that person's life. This is the type of fire Paul is talking about in our passage today. Does this mean that hell is a place where unbelievers will be tormented by fire? Or is the fire a metaphor for the burning shame and regret they will feel for all eternity? I don't know the answer to that. Although I was raised with the doctrine that the fires of hell are literal, and although Jesus speaks of flames in His parable of the rich man in Luke 16, the Bible doesn't really describe hell to us. But whatever hell is, it's not a place where any human soul was ever intended to go, for God created us to have fellowship with Him. Refusing to have fellowship with Him condemns a person to be "shut out from the presence of the Lord", as Paul says in verse 9. It means that person's true destiny was never fulfilled and that his soul will reside forever in a place separated from the beauty and glory and light of God. God did everything possible to prevent this from happening to anyone, up to and including giving His own Son in exchange for us, and if we "ignore so great a salvation" there is no other means of escape for us from wrath. (Hebrews 2:3)
"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12) In contrast to the terrifying fate that awaits the wicked who don't repent, Paul paints a beautiful picture of the life of the believer. God will strengthen the believers of Thessalonica. He will help them to grow in their faith and in their relationship with Him. He will enable them to be fruitful in good works, no matter how violently their enemies oppose them. They are going to live lives that glorify the Lord Jesus---the One who gave His life for them. What higher praise could Paul give the church of Thessalonica, or any church for that matter, than to say that they bring glory to Christ? What better thing could be said of any of us?
The believers at Thessalonica are enduring persecutions, trials, and suffering. They are wondering when it will end---if it will end. They are wondering why God's judgment hasn't already fallen on their enemies and they want to know what will be the final fate of evil people. Paul's words in the first chapter of this letter answer their questions.
He begins by reminding the Thessalonians that although the enemies of the gospel are not thankful for them, he and his friends are. In fact, he and his friends admire the faith of the Thessalonians so much that they are using them as an example when they speak to other churches. "Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring." (2 Thessalonians 1:1-4)
Who was persecuting the Christians of Thessalonica? The Bible doesn't really tell us. I tried to do some research on the subject and I found that there is little to no historical information about it. Scholars have speculated on the source of the persecution, but no one knows for sure. When the church first began in Jerusalem, it was persecuted by the same religious leaders who had handed Jesus over to Pilate. In other cities where the apostles taught the gospel, they were opposed by some of the people from the synagogues, meaning they were opposed by a group made up of Jews and of Gentile converts to Judaism. (Please keep in mind that most of the Jews who did not convert to Christianity did not persecute the Christians in any way. They lived peacefully side by side with Christians and, although they didn't share their beliefs, they didn't stir up trouble against them.) But late in the reign of Emperor Nero, during whose reign Paul ended up a prisoner in Rome and during whose reign he was beheaded, the enemies the Christians most had to fear were Gentiles. It became as dangerous for Christians to be living in the territories of the Roman Empire as it would later be for Jews to be living in Nazi Germany. Nero was the Adolf Hitler of his day, hating the church with the same type of insane, satanic hatred that Hitler harbored for the Jews.
But the Thessalonians are standing firm in the face of all opposition, and Paul commends them for it. "All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering." (2 Thessalonians 1:5) He says, "See, God knew what He was doing when He called you! He knew what brave soldiers of Christ you would be. He knew He could count on you to stand firm in faith even while the world around you is going mad."
They need not fear that God doesn't see their troubles or that He will not judge those who trouble them. "God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with His powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might on the day He comes to be glorified in His holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you." (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)
Fire is often used metaphorically in the Scriptures. For the believer, the trials of this world are sometimes compared to the refining fire a goldsmith uses. Putting precious metals through the fire causes the impurities to rise to the top where they can be skimmed off, causing the finished product to be far more beautiful and valuable than it would have been otherwise. For the unbeliever, fire is related to judgment---to the burning up of the wicked person's evil works. In that case, the fire means the loss of the useless and wicked pursuits of that person's life. This is the type of fire Paul is talking about in our passage today. Does this mean that hell is a place where unbelievers will be tormented by fire? Or is the fire a metaphor for the burning shame and regret they will feel for all eternity? I don't know the answer to that. Although I was raised with the doctrine that the fires of hell are literal, and although Jesus speaks of flames in His parable of the rich man in Luke 16, the Bible doesn't really describe hell to us. But whatever hell is, it's not a place where any human soul was ever intended to go, for God created us to have fellowship with Him. Refusing to have fellowship with Him condemns a person to be "shut out from the presence of the Lord", as Paul says in verse 9. It means that person's true destiny was never fulfilled and that his soul will reside forever in a place separated from the beauty and glory and light of God. God did everything possible to prevent this from happening to anyone, up to and including giving His own Son in exchange for us, and if we "ignore so great a salvation" there is no other means of escape for us from wrath. (Hebrews 2:3)
"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12) In contrast to the terrifying fate that awaits the wicked who don't repent, Paul paints a beautiful picture of the life of the believer. God will strengthen the believers of Thessalonica. He will help them to grow in their faith and in their relationship with Him. He will enable them to be fruitful in good works, no matter how violently their enemies oppose them. They are going to live lives that glorify the Lord Jesus---the One who gave His life for them. What higher praise could Paul give the church of Thessalonica, or any church for that matter, than to say that they bring glory to Christ? What better thing could be said of any of us?
Saturday, March 2, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 10, Give Thanks In All Circumstances
Paul is giving his closing remarks today in his first letter to the Thessalonians. In it he provides many practical and helpful instructions for godly living. Even though these are closing remarks, they contain as much information in them as any other portion of this letter.
"Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) We are to have respect for our pastors and teachers. We aren't to have the attitude that no one has the right to tell us how we live, for these people devote their lives to learning God's word and applying it to their lives. God has called them to the work of instructing the believers, so when we take a disobedient attitude toward them we are essentially taking a disobedient attitude toward God. (Paul is talking, of course, of instructors who are faithfully teaching the word of God. He's talking about people who can be counted on not to twist the Scriptures or teach the Scriptures for reasons of personal gain. It's of the utmost importance that we study the word of God ourselves so we can recognize any teachers that have strayed from it.) Paul knows that the pastors and teachers of Thessalonica are doing their best to teach God's word in the way they should, so he commands the believers to show these instructors the respect that is due them.
"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15) As the children of the living God, we are to treat each other as loving family members. To use an example from real life, imagine we belong to a large family and have lots of siblings. If two of our siblings are angry and arguing with each other and holding a grudge, it makes the whole household feel uncomfortable. We would naturally want to help the two of them make peace. If we have a brother or sister who is sad and discouraged, our love for them would prompt us to try to make them feel better. If one of them is weak in spirit or in body, our compassion for them would cause us to come to their aid. We are patient with our family in ways we are not always patient with outsiders, so since fellow believers are our brothers and sisters, we must be patient with them. Not everyone grows spiritually at the same rate and we can't expect them to, so patience is called for.
In addition, it's easier to forgive those we love, isn't it? So we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be willing to extend forgiveness to them instead of seeking a way to get back at them. We must forgive them even if they don't realize they've wronged us, even if they don't feel they've wronged us, and even if they don't ask for our forgiveness. We are instructed to, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) Why must we forgive a person even if he or she is not seeking our forgiveness? Because God has extended forgiveness to us and because we are to "live in peace with each other" as Paul said in verse 13. We can't have peace in our hearts or peace with each other if we're holding on to resentment. Letting go of it and letting God sort the situation out isn't letting a person off the hook; it's simply allowing peace to have the upper hand over resentment.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) We don't always know immediately what God's will is for us in our circumstances. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer and a lot of Bible study before we know what decision we're supposed to make. But no matter what's going on in our lives, we can know what God wants us to do while we wait for further instructions from Him. First, we are to rejoice. I don't know about you, but I'm going through a season in life right now where I'm finding it difficult to do a lot of rejoicing. But no matter what's facing us, we can always rejoice in our salvation. We can always rejoice that Christ loves us and gave Himself for us so that we could have redemption from sin and have eternal life with Him.
Second, we are to take every opportunity to pray. When we're discouraged we may not feel like praying. Yesterday I felt so weary about all the things that are troubling me that I said to the Lord, "You know what's bothering me. You know my needs. You know what situations I want to see turned around. I know You see me and hear me. Please help me." Our prayers don't have to be lofty and intellectual, full of spiritual-sounding phrases and noble words. When we're in distress we can't always manage laying out our problems one by one before the Lord. Our distress is often so urgent or so heartbreaking that all we can say is what Peter said when he was sinking in the sea, "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30) Paul says to pray continually, so throughout the day we are to say to the Lord whatever we need to say to Him. This might take the form of a long and thoughtful prayer or it might take the form of a quick and desperate plea for the Lord's help. Either way, it's vital that we stay in contact with our God who loves us and who is the source of our strength and help.
Third, we are to give thanks in all circumstances. That sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? But even in the worst of times, there are things to be thankful for. Things could always be worse than they are, so that's one reason to give thanks. We can give thanks for the things in our lives that are going well instead of spending all our time dwelling on the things that are not going well. We can give thanks that God loves us and that we have family members and friends who love us. We can give thanks that there's a roof over our heads and food on our tables and clothes in our closets. If we focus only on the things that we feel are going wrong, there is a danger of feeling like nothing is going right, and that's not the case. Satan would like for us to dwell only on our troubles, to become angry with God, to stop communicating with God, to stop reading our Bibles, and to fall into such a sad condition that we can't give a testimony about Christ to anyone. Let's not allow the devil to have what he wants. Let's do what God wants, which is to give thanks even when it's hard, because God will bless those who are thankful for what they already have. He will bless us for remaining faithful during our trials and He will even use our trials to do great things for us if we maintain a godly attitude. I confess my attitude lately has not been all that it should be. Paul's words in verses 16-18 have inspired me to do better.
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21) When Paul says not to quench the Spirit, he's using a term that is used for throwing water on a fire. When we disobey the Holy Spirit, it's like throwing water on a campfire, rendering the campfire useless for providing light and warmth. In the same way, when we aren't obedient to the Spirit, we are incapable of providing light and warmth to others. Paul also warns us not to accept everything as prophecy but to test it. We are to be respectful to a brother or sister in Christ who announces a prophecy, but we can't just take their word for it without checking with the Lord. A person might come up to us and tell us they feel God has given them a message for us. We can't just accept that at face value (I've had people tell me the Holy Spirit wants them to give me a message that I felt certain the Holy Spirit did not give them), but we are to seek the Lord's will in prayer, and we are to study His word, and we are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions. A person in the church might announce a vision the Lord has given him or her, but anything like this must be tested against the word of God. If in any point it contradicts the word of God, it must be rejected.
"May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) The Lord isn't telling us to do anything that He isn't going to enable us to do. The instructions we've read in today's passage are not impossible to follow if we lean on the Lord for help. He's never going to break a promise.
"Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God's people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (1 Thessalonians 5:25-28)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, precious friends.
"Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other." (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13) We are to have respect for our pastors and teachers. We aren't to have the attitude that no one has the right to tell us how we live, for these people devote their lives to learning God's word and applying it to their lives. God has called them to the work of instructing the believers, so when we take a disobedient attitude toward them we are essentially taking a disobedient attitude toward God. (Paul is talking, of course, of instructors who are faithfully teaching the word of God. He's talking about people who can be counted on not to twist the Scriptures or teach the Scriptures for reasons of personal gain. It's of the utmost importance that we study the word of God ourselves so we can recognize any teachers that have strayed from it.) Paul knows that the pastors and teachers of Thessalonica are doing their best to teach God's word in the way they should, so he commands the believers to show these instructors the respect that is due them.
"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15) As the children of the living God, we are to treat each other as loving family members. To use an example from real life, imagine we belong to a large family and have lots of siblings. If two of our siblings are angry and arguing with each other and holding a grudge, it makes the whole household feel uncomfortable. We would naturally want to help the two of them make peace. If we have a brother or sister who is sad and discouraged, our love for them would prompt us to try to make them feel better. If one of them is weak in spirit or in body, our compassion for them would cause us to come to their aid. We are patient with our family in ways we are not always patient with outsiders, so since fellow believers are our brothers and sisters, we must be patient with them. Not everyone grows spiritually at the same rate and we can't expect them to, so patience is called for.
In addition, it's easier to forgive those we love, isn't it? So we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ and be willing to extend forgiveness to them instead of seeking a way to get back at them. We must forgive them even if they don't realize they've wronged us, even if they don't feel they've wronged us, and even if they don't ask for our forgiveness. We are instructed to, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) Why must we forgive a person even if he or she is not seeking our forgiveness? Because God has extended forgiveness to us and because we are to "live in peace with each other" as Paul said in verse 13. We can't have peace in our hearts or peace with each other if we're holding on to resentment. Letting go of it and letting God sort the situation out isn't letting a person off the hook; it's simply allowing peace to have the upper hand over resentment.
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) We don't always know immediately what God's will is for us in our circumstances. Sometimes it takes a lot of prayer and a lot of Bible study before we know what decision we're supposed to make. But no matter what's going on in our lives, we can know what God wants us to do while we wait for further instructions from Him. First, we are to rejoice. I don't know about you, but I'm going through a season in life right now where I'm finding it difficult to do a lot of rejoicing. But no matter what's facing us, we can always rejoice in our salvation. We can always rejoice that Christ loves us and gave Himself for us so that we could have redemption from sin and have eternal life with Him.
Second, we are to take every opportunity to pray. When we're discouraged we may not feel like praying. Yesterday I felt so weary about all the things that are troubling me that I said to the Lord, "You know what's bothering me. You know my needs. You know what situations I want to see turned around. I know You see me and hear me. Please help me." Our prayers don't have to be lofty and intellectual, full of spiritual-sounding phrases and noble words. When we're in distress we can't always manage laying out our problems one by one before the Lord. Our distress is often so urgent or so heartbreaking that all we can say is what Peter said when he was sinking in the sea, "Lord, save me!" (Matthew 14:30) Paul says to pray continually, so throughout the day we are to say to the Lord whatever we need to say to Him. This might take the form of a long and thoughtful prayer or it might take the form of a quick and desperate plea for the Lord's help. Either way, it's vital that we stay in contact with our God who loves us and who is the source of our strength and help.
Third, we are to give thanks in all circumstances. That sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? But even in the worst of times, there are things to be thankful for. Things could always be worse than they are, so that's one reason to give thanks. We can give thanks for the things in our lives that are going well instead of spending all our time dwelling on the things that are not going well. We can give thanks that God loves us and that we have family members and friends who love us. We can give thanks that there's a roof over our heads and food on our tables and clothes in our closets. If we focus only on the things that we feel are going wrong, there is a danger of feeling like nothing is going right, and that's not the case. Satan would like for us to dwell only on our troubles, to become angry with God, to stop communicating with God, to stop reading our Bibles, and to fall into such a sad condition that we can't give a testimony about Christ to anyone. Let's not allow the devil to have what he wants. Let's do what God wants, which is to give thanks even when it's hard, because God will bless those who are thankful for what they already have. He will bless us for remaining faithful during our trials and He will even use our trials to do great things for us if we maintain a godly attitude. I confess my attitude lately has not been all that it should be. Paul's words in verses 16-18 have inspired me to do better.
"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil." (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21) When Paul says not to quench the Spirit, he's using a term that is used for throwing water on a fire. When we disobey the Holy Spirit, it's like throwing water on a campfire, rendering the campfire useless for providing light and warmth. In the same way, when we aren't obedient to the Spirit, we are incapable of providing light and warmth to others. Paul also warns us not to accept everything as prophecy but to test it. We are to be respectful to a brother or sister in Christ who announces a prophecy, but we can't just take their word for it without checking with the Lord. A person might come up to us and tell us they feel God has given them a message for us. We can't just accept that at face value (I've had people tell me the Holy Spirit wants them to give me a message that I felt certain the Holy Spirit did not give them), but we are to seek the Lord's will in prayer, and we are to study His word, and we are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our decisions. A person in the church might announce a vision the Lord has given him or her, but anything like this must be tested against the word of God. If in any point it contradicts the word of God, it must be rejected.
"May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) The Lord isn't telling us to do anything that He isn't going to enable us to do. The instructions we've read in today's passage are not impossible to follow if we lean on the Lord for help. He's never going to break a promise.
"Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God's people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (1 Thessalonians 5:25-28)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, precious friends.
Friday, March 1, 2019
The Letters Of Paul The Apostle To The Believers At Thessalonica. Day 9, The Day Of The Lord
Paul warns that for unbelievers the day of the Lord will be an unwelcome thing. It will be an unexpected thing, for they will be living life as usual and behaving as if the world is going to keep going on as it always has. The Lord Jesus gave the same warning, saying, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:37-39)
It's not that the people of Noah's day hadn't been told of the coming flood. Noah preached to them for the hundred or so years it took to build the ark. They heard him, but they didn't believe him. They lived each day as if the flood wasn't going to come; therefore, they didn't repent. In the same way, people in our time are hearing the message that a day of judgment is coming, but some of them don't believe it. They don't believe it, they don't repent, and they keep on living as if there is no God before whose judgment seat they will someday stand.
"Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) No one expects to come home from work to find his house burgled. He thinks his belongings are safe while he's away from them. No one goes to bed at night expecting to hear the sudden breaking of glass downstairs as a thief enters his residence. He doesn't think anyone is going to violate the safety and sanctity of his home. This is the attitude of those who reject the Lord and who reject the idea of His judgment. They go about their lives as if Christ isn't coming and as if they will never have to answer to Him for the way they've lived. They don't expect Him to show up anymore than they expect a thief to break in during the night.
But the Lord's people won't be shocked and stunned when He appears, because His appearing is what we long for. We can't wait to see Him and be with Him forever. "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5) Though we don't know the hour when our Master will return, we live our lives in the awareness that He will return. Because we belong to Him, we don't live in fear of the judgment.
Because we belong to Christ and not to the world, we mustn't live as the world lives. We mustn't live in a way that will cause anyone to confuse us with unbelievers. "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8) Paul uses a military example in telling us to be dressed and ready to move out. In our passage yesterday he also used a military reference when telling us a trumpet will sound when the Lord tells His people to move out of this world. In the Roman army, trumpet calls were used to ready the troops to move out. The first trumpet was blown to tell them it was time to break camp. The second trumpet was blown to tell them to get into formation. The last trumpet was blown to tell them to move out. We are to be waiting for the last trumpet to be blown. The first and second trumpets have already sounded, for nothing in Scripture remains to be fulfilled before Christ calls His church to move out of the world. So, like good soldiers, we are to be awake and sober, dressed and ready to go.
We who belong to the Lord should look forward to the day when we will be called out of this world. As Paul assured us yesterday, whether we are still alive at His coming or whether our earthly bodies are dead, all of us who have trusted in Christ are going to rise from this earth to be with Him. When he says the word "asleep" in verse 10, he's not speaking of the stupor of the unbelievers who are living as if judgment will never come. He's speaking of the death of the believer---the sleep of the body while it awaits resurrection. "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)
The day of the Lord is a day to be dreaded by those who refuse to bow the knee to Him. For them, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31) But those of us who have put our trust in Him can say, "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day---and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)
It's not that the people of Noah's day hadn't been told of the coming flood. Noah preached to them for the hundred or so years it took to build the ark. They heard him, but they didn't believe him. They lived each day as if the flood wasn't going to come; therefore, they didn't repent. In the same way, people in our time are hearing the message that a day of judgment is coming, but some of them don't believe it. They don't believe it, they don't repent, and they keep on living as if there is no God before whose judgment seat they will someday stand.
"Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'Peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape." (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3) No one expects to come home from work to find his house burgled. He thinks his belongings are safe while he's away from them. No one goes to bed at night expecting to hear the sudden breaking of glass downstairs as a thief enters his residence. He doesn't think anyone is going to violate the safety and sanctity of his home. This is the attitude of those who reject the Lord and who reject the idea of His judgment. They go about their lives as if Christ isn't coming and as if they will never have to answer to Him for the way they've lived. They don't expect Him to show up anymore than they expect a thief to break in during the night.
But the Lord's people won't be shocked and stunned when He appears, because His appearing is what we long for. We can't wait to see Him and be with Him forever. "But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness." (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5) Though we don't know the hour when our Master will return, we live our lives in the awareness that He will return. Because we belong to Him, we don't live in fear of the judgment.
Because we belong to Christ and not to the world, we mustn't live as the world lives. We mustn't live in a way that will cause anyone to confuse us with unbelievers. "So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8) Paul uses a military example in telling us to be dressed and ready to move out. In our passage yesterday he also used a military reference when telling us a trumpet will sound when the Lord tells His people to move out of this world. In the Roman army, trumpet calls were used to ready the troops to move out. The first trumpet was blown to tell them it was time to break camp. The second trumpet was blown to tell them to get into formation. The last trumpet was blown to tell them to move out. We are to be waiting for the last trumpet to be blown. The first and second trumpets have already sounded, for nothing in Scripture remains to be fulfilled before Christ calls His church to move out of the world. So, like good soldiers, we are to be awake and sober, dressed and ready to go.
We who belong to the Lord should look forward to the day when we will be called out of this world. As Paul assured us yesterday, whether we are still alive at His coming or whether our earthly bodies are dead, all of us who have trusted in Christ are going to rise from this earth to be with Him. When he says the word "asleep" in verse 10, he's not speaking of the stupor of the unbelievers who are living as if judgment will never come. He's speaking of the death of the believer---the sleep of the body while it awaits resurrection. "For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)
The day of the Lord is a day to be dreaded by those who refuse to bow the knee to Him. For them, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31) But those of us who have put our trust in Him can say, "Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day---and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:8)
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