2 Thessalonians
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits[e] to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings[f] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
Stand firm…guard??
You could be forgiven from thinking you have just flipped open to 2 Timothy!
With the call to stand firm and even the perseverance in the midst of suffering :
4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
I guess the thing that gives it away is verse 15 So then, brothers and………. SISTERS!
But it shouldn’t really be that big of a surprise, to hear the same sort of challenges and encouragements again and again through the letters written to the churches.
Cause whoever you are and wherever you are, standing up for the glorious gospel is gunna mean challenges. Resisting suffering that comes from speaking about Jesus, refuting false teachings about our Lord (2 Thes 2:1-2). Yet of course these challenges come not without powerful aids to help us in our time of need:
1 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. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
May we therefore guard the gospel and proclaim it, may its message spread rapidly through Lismore and beyond as we go out boldly strengthened and protected by our faithful Lord.
Hi Stew,
I was wondering if you (or anyone feeling brave) could have a go at explaining the following verses:
2 Thes 2:
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,
2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
3Don’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.
4He 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.
Thanks!
Hi Dave!
It’s a good question, and many a Christian throughout history has given their interpretation of it. So if my memory serves me correctly, many Protestants around the time of the reformation said it was the Pope in Rome who was the man of lawlessness.
But what are we to make of it in the 21st century?
I think there’s a couple of things to be said:
1) In vv5-6 of the passage, Paul says that he when he was with the Thessalonians, he ‘used to tell [them] these things’. The thessalonians know stuff, that we (in God’s sovereignty) do not know. This idea of the Thessalonians having inside knowledge seems to be repeated in verse 6 as well.
2) In v8, this lawless one will be revealed before the coming of Jesus, but then Jesus will destroy him at his return.
I don’t think we can say too much more than this, at least not without entering into some pretty heavy speculation (witness the ‘Left Behind’ series of books – not to mention that their view of the ‘end times’ is pretty unbiblical, as far as I can tell). No doubt if you look at 3 different commentaries, you’ll probably get 6 different interpretations! 🙂
Interestingly enough, 1 John talks about ‘antichrists’ – those who deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22). Not sure what to make of this either, cause John talks about ‘the antichrist…coming’, but then mentions a number of ‘antichrists’ (plural), who had seemingly left their church(es). (1 John 2:18). I think we find such passages a bit difficult to fully comprehend! But we can take heart that God gives us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1), so if he hasn’t given us the full details, we don’t need to know it.
Sorry about not being able to give a more definite answer on this one brother. I suspect we’ll only know for sure once Jesus returns…
In Christ, Akos
verse 1 the “rapture” of the saints, the time of Jesus coming. 1 Thess 4:17
Verse 2 Todays version would be that a scam e-mail had been sent around, saying that the day of the Lord had already happen. But the info on this e-mail is false and it didn’t come from Paul.And we should be careful of someone who brings such a message. Gal.1:8
Verse 3 The ‘rebellion’ I think could be several like, the falling away of people within the church,a desertion of the Jewish people or a world wide rebellion against God.
The ‘lawless man’ is an individual embodiment of wickdness drawing its power from Satan, working fraudulent wonders, thrusting himself on the world as it being the object of worship.But his fate is sealed,he will be destroyed at the coming of Jesus. 1Thess 4:16
Verse 4 Like the King of Babylon wanted to set his throne in heaven,so the ‘lawless man’ will boast himself as the possesor of Gods heavenly sanctuary. Rev. 13:6
I had a go Dave
I love your answer Akos.