Above image from http://chrisedmondson.blogspot.com/2011/02/2-thessalonians-focus-now.html
www.becomingcloser.org/2thessalonians/god_is_just.html: "A question that puzzles the new Christian is this: If God is righteous (and omnipotent) then why is there such injustice in the world? In particular, why is there such injustice towards Christians in this world? As we shall see, there are answers to such questions – at least one of which is unknown to most Christians. In this letter, Paul corrects some misimpressions and also some of the heresy that came from the use of his first letter by those who thought themselves wise."
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary states: “The second epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians was written to correct the erroneous notion among the Christians at Thessalonica that the persecutions from which they were suffering were those of ‘the great and awesome day of the Lord’ (Joel 2:31) from which they had been taught to expect deliverance by ‘the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him’ (2 Thessalonians 2:1). The theme of this epistle, obscured by the mistranslation of the KJV in 2:2, ‘the day of Christ is at hand,’ is correctly rendered in NASB ‘The day of the Lord has come.’ ”
The main theme in Chapter 1 is how to deal with persecution. The chapter talks about how their suffering was making them a good witness for Jesus. The chapter talks about how God will deal eventually deal with those who persecuted the Thessalonians, so they don’t have to worry about that. The question that these Thessalonians are asking is, “How could a loving God allow evil people to keep persecuting them?” They are asking the question that many of the psalmists ask. The question that Jeremiah asks in Jeremiah 12:1, “Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy?" Paul answers this question by saying that this will not last forever. There will come a day when justice will be delivered. These words are meant to comfort them and to assure them of the character of God. A loving God won’t let evil people get away with their evil forever.
(1) This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Morris: "The Greek makes it plain that the Father and Christ are one source. It is remarkable that even at this early date the Son is placed side by side with the Father as the fount of divine grace, without any need of comment."
(3) Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 is one sentence in Greek!
- Growing:
- John Piper: "If God is the one who gives growth and if God commands that we grow (2 Peter 3:18), then not to be growing in faith and love means one of two things. It means that God is not present in our life and we have deceived ourselves in thinking that we have been savingly converted and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Or, it means that we are grieving the Holy Spirit with a subtle, temporary rebellion so deep that almighty God suffers himself to be resisted in his sanctifying work."
- In his earlier epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul prayed for them to grow in faith (1 Thessalonians 4:10) and to increase in love (1 Thessalonians 3:12). He now rejoiced that they were doing both of these things.
- The word translated "growing," which Paul used to describe their "faith," occurs only here in the New Testament, and means "growing exceedingly," not just at a normal rate.
- A Christian is supposed to grow, not to be stagnant. When God plants a seed he intends for it to grow.
- Ephesians 4:15: Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
- Philippians 1:9: I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
- Colossians 1:9-10: So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:12: And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.
- 2 Peter 3:18: Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.
- Endurance ... persecutions ... hardships ... suffering:
- Many people think that the absence of problems in their life is the true indication of being in God’s will, but the Scriptures don’t teach this. Paul was saying just the opposite in this verse. Persecution should be expected because “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
- Most Americans don’t think the U.S. is currently a Christian nation:
- Obama exemplified the Christian-hating left’s views of people of faith when he said of working-class voters: "[I]t's not surprising, then, that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” For nearly all the left, Christians stand in the way of “progress” and deserve to be called Bible-thumpers, ignorant, uneducated, backward hicks and rednecks, mostly from "fly-over country". The left’s hatred of religion means that public prayer must be forbidden, Christian influence in public policy eliminated and Christian holidays secularized. As Chris Matthews suggested, Christians, particularly conservative evangelical Christians, have no place in American politics: “If you’re a politician and believe in God first, that’s all good. Just don’t run for government office, run for church office,” he tweeted. Not to be outdone, Mike Dickinson, a Virginia Democrat running for a House seat, tweeted, “Said it proudly! Want to decimate the Tea Party, The NRA, bible thumpers and Fox News zombies? Vote for me!”
- Under Barack Obama, the military has become aggressively anti-Christian and pro-gay to such an extent that the troops are no longer even allowed to privately oppose gay marriage and military chaplains are increasingly forced to avoid preaching Christ and to pray in His name. The Conservative Baptist Association of America is suing Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki – alleging two of their chaplains were openly ridiculed by the leader of San Diego-based VA-DOD Clinical Pastoral Education Center program.
- The Christian owners of an Oregon bakery were sued for $135,000 after refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding.
- A Colorado judge determined that a Lakewood bakery unlawfully discriminated against a gay couple by refusing to sell them a wedding cake.
- Liberty Institute Founder Kelly Shackleford: “There are children being prohibited from writing Merry Christmas to the soldiers, senior citizens being banned from praying over their meals in the Senior Center, the VA banning the mention of God in military funerals, numerous attempts to have veterans memorials torn down if they have any religious symbols such as a cross, and I could go on and on.”
- Bobby Jindal at CNN Debate said, "Biggest discrimination in America is against Christians who believe in traditional marriage."
- Anti-Christian discrimination on public university campuses is rising rapidly.
- According to a report released in March by Gordon-Conwell Seminary, 1/4 of the world’s Christians live in countries hostile to their faith. At any given moment, 100 to 200 million Christians around the world are being persecuted for their faith. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity reports that 100,000 Christians die every year because of their faith. Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution from their governments for their beliefs, according to the U.S. State Department.
- In China, persecution against Christians is at all-time highs. In Zhejiang Province, crosses have been removed or demolished from more than 300 churches. A pastor was sentenced to 12 years in prison for “gathering a crowd to disrupt public order.” Authorities have explicitly banned Christians from sharing the gospel with anyone under 18 years old.
- In Iraq, ISIS has targeted Christians for discrimination or even death. They have raped Christian women, sold them into slavery and caused many to flee. Where there were once 1.2 million Christians in Iraq, there are now fewer than 200,000. Some of the oldest Christian churches in the world have been abandoned because of ISIS attacks. Cities where Christians have continually worshiped for almost 2000 years no longer have a Christian presence.
- Suffering:
- David Guzik: "We usually think that God is absent when we suffer, and that our suffering calls God's righteous judgment into question. Paul took the exact opposite position and insisted that the Thessalonians' suffering was evidence of the righteous judgment of God. Where suffering is coupled with righteous endurance, God's work is done. The fires of persecution and tribulation were like the purifying fires of a refiner, burning away the dross from the gold, bringing forth a pure, precious metal."
- Dr. Constable: "A hot fire burning under gold ore separates the gold from the dross, and reveals the "gold" to be what it actually is. In the same way, the fire of trials can separate the Christian from the unsaved, and show him to be what he really is. He is what he is by God's grace. Suffering, if properly responded to, only exposes the quality of the person whom God's grace is transforming."
- Romans 5:3-5: We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
- Romans 8:17: And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
- 2 Corinthians 4:17: For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
- 2 Timothy 2:12: If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us.
- 1 Peter 1:7; 2:20: These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold - though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. ... Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.
- Worthy:
- David Guzik: "The idea behind counted worthy is not "seen as worthy" but "reckoned as worthy" as in a judicial decree. Paul's prayer is that the worthiness of Jesus may be accounted to them."
- Steve Lewis: "The Thessalonian believers are considered worthy of the kingdom of God because they have kept their faith in Christ, even when faced with severe opposition. The verb considered worthy (kataxioo) does not mean to make one worthy, but to declare one is worthy. This verb is an aorist passive infinitive = 'to have been declared worthy at a specific point in time.' It is unfortunate that many English Bibles have translated this as if it were a future tense. They have already been declared worthy, but in a future sense at the time the millennial kingdom begins they certainly 'will be' shown to have been worthy."
- In his justice:
- Hiebert: "A world in which justice was not done at last would not be God's world at all."
- He will pay back:
- Paul says they are going to get what they deserve – in God’s good time. Unlike Islam, Jesus says we're not to take revenge - God will eventually take care of that. Sometimes, it's hard to remember that such as how I was treated by my employer after my daughter died after two months in a coma.
- We can compare the Psalmist Asaph who was so perplexed about the sufferings of the righteous and the prosperity of the wicked, until ‘Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.’ (Psalm 73:17).
- Wiersbe: "Pharaoh tried to drown all the male babies born to the Jews, and his own army was drowned in the Red Sea. Haman plotted to wipe out the Jews, and he and his own sons were wiped out. The advisers of King Darius forced him to arrest Daniel and throw him into a lions’ den, but later they themselves were thrown to the lions. The unbelieving Jewish leaders who sacrificed Christ in order to save the nation (John 11:49-53) in a few years saw their city destroyed and their nation scattered."
- Rest:
- Hebrews 4:1,9: God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. ... So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.
- Revelation 14:13: And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”
- Appears (Strong's Greek: 602 - apokalupsis - revealed):
- Apocalupsis means "to clearly reveal" or “the removal of the veil”. This refers to the Second Coming of Jesus - the Second Coming/Resurrection Day/Judgment Day. This means that Jesus will come out from His place at the right hand of the throne of God and return to planet earth at the end of the 7 year tribulation period.
- COME with his mighty angels: He shall come in person. Not merely in spirit
or in power, but in a visible form; he shall be revealed from heaven; every eye
shall see him.
- This is NOT about the rapture when the dead in Christ and Christians alive at the time will meet the Lord in the clouds to spend eternity with Him.
- This is obviously about the Second Coming of Christ to earth to defeat Anti-Christ, the false prophet and Satan and then to usher in the Millennium.
- Matthew 16:27: For the Son of Man will COME with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
- Matthew 25:31: “But when the Son of Man COMES in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
- Jude 15: to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
- Revelation 19:11-15: Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress.
- Angels:
- Matthew 13:41: The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- Judgment:
- Acts 17:31: For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
- 1 Peter 4:17: For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
- Revelation 20:11-15: And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Those who don't know God and those who refuse to obey:
- Judgment is not coming upon the children of God, not upon the church but upon those who don't know God, those who don't obey the Gospel.
- Notice it's two groups. As ignorance was the sin of the Gentiles, disobedience was the sin of the Jews. They knew God, but rejected the gospel of Christ. They were fiercer persecutors of the saints even than the Gentiles.
- Punished:
- Hebrews 10:29-31: Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.” It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Forever separated:
- "Forever separated from the Lord" sums up the Bible's understanding of hell.
- Destruction - Greek olethros:
- The Greek for destruction here does not mean final destruction (apoleia), but olethros, which indicates ruin and loss.
- “Eternal destruction” is not annihilation. It is a conscious, continuous expulsion from the presence of God.
- When:
- When (hotan) is indefinite, indicating that the exact time of His coming is not known.
- Comes:
- He will be revealed from heaven (note: revealed, not come). His saints will come with him; the angels will accompany him, and all of us who are saved will look at him and marvel at him.
- Comes is “erchomai” and means “to come from one place to another” and is used of persons arriving to appear, to come before the public and to make one’s appearance.
- Receive glory:
- Romans 8:18-19: Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.
- Philippians 3:21: He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
- His holy people ... includes you:
- Spurgeon: "Those who look upon the saints will feel a sudden wonderment of sacred delight; they will be startled with the surprising glory of the Lord's work in them; 'We thought He would do great things, but this! This surpasseth conception!' Every saint will be a wonder to himself. 'I thought my bliss would be great, but not like this!' All his brethren will be a wonder to the perfected believer. He will say, 'I thought the saints would be perfect, but I never imagined such a transfiguration of excessive glory would be put upon each of them. I could not have imagined my Lord to be so good and gracious.' "
- Praying for you:
- Literally, praying AROUND you - protective prayer. Paul didn't pray for the Thessalonians to be removed from the trial they were enduring. He prayed that God would make them worthy of their calling and that he would help them through this trial.
- The Living Bible: “And so we keep on praying for you, that our God will make you the kind of children he wants to have - will make you as good as you wish you could be! - rewarding your faith with his power.”
- Life ... worthy:
- The life we live is a sermon to the world around us. We either draw people closer to God with our walk, or we drive them further away.
- Ephesians 4:1: Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
- Philippians 1:27: Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
- Six Characteristics of a Worthy Walk:
- www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/web/articleid/71589/columnid/6432/default.asp:
- Walking worthy of the Lord means pursuing the goal of pleasing the Lord in everything you do, in all areas of your life.
- Walking worthy of the Lord means continually bearing the right kind of fruit.
- Walking worthy of the Lord means continually increasing in your knowledge of God. God always has more to teach you. You will never exhaust the depths of His Word.
- Walking worthy of the Lord means continually receiving God's strength.
- Walking worthy of the Lord means that God will build patience and longsuffering into your way of life.
- Walking worthy of the Lord involves continually giving joyful praise to God, because of what He has done for us through Christ
- www.teachingtheword.org/apps/articles/web/articleid/71589/columnid/6432/default.asp:
- The name:
- Bible Knowledge Commentary (BKC): "In Bible times, a person's name stood for the person--and represented him and his characteristics."
- J.C. Ryle: "The name Jesus means "Savior." It is the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. It is given to our Lord because "He saves His people from their sins." This is His special role. He saves them from the guilt of sin, by cleansing them in His own atoning blood. He saves them from the dominion of sin by putting in their hearts the sanctifying Spirit. He saves them from the presence of sin, when He takes them out of this world to rest with Him. He will save them from all the consequences of sin, when He shall give them a glorious body at the last day."
- The name "Jesus" (Yeshua or Yehoshua) was a common one among the Israelites at the time of Jesus' birth and it means "Yahweh saves." Note that there is no letter "J" in Greek or Latin.
- The word "Christ" in some versions is not in the original.
- Matthew 28:19: Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- John 14:13; 16:26 : You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. ... Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf,
- John 20:31: But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
- Acts 2:38: Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 3:6,16: But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ... “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed - and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
- Acts 4:12; 4:30: There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” ... Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
- Acts 5:28: “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
- Acts 19:13-17: Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
- Acts 22:16: What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
- Romans 10:13: For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:11: Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
- Philippians 2:9-11: Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- 2 Timothy 2:19: ... God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
- 1 John 5:13: I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
- Will be honored:
- The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is glorified when we are Christian in the true sense of the word.
- Satan asked to test Job (Job 1:11). Satan asked to “sift” Peter (Luke 22:31). Do you think Satan is afraid to "sift" you? One sign that you're being effective as a Christian is when Satan attacks us. If he's not bothering you, he's marked you off as not worth bothering with! Satan tries to produce things in our life that might shake our faith - and make us ineffective.
NOTES:
- Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois.
- Disclaimer: Source material for this study has been gleaned from many different sources. If you want further study, I have attempted to acknowledge these sources at http://1thessaloniansstudy.blogspot.com/2015/08/1-thessalonians-references.html
- Index to all our studies are at http://oakview-bible-fellowship.blogspot.com/
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