Hey Friends? God Bless You.
I hope and pray you are Blessed and Doing Well.
We are studying 2 Thessalonians now.
The thinking is that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians in 51-52 AD just a few months after he had written 1 Thessalonians!
Why a Second Letter so quickly??
I suspect because Paul was really worried that the Thessalonians might give up!
Paul had time to preach the Gospel a little in Thessalonica.
Then he had to leave because strong opposition came against him!!
REMEMBER That Principle – The Devil does not LIKE God’s Word!!
Remember that Paul sent Timothy right back to Thessalonica to make sure they were keeping the Faith.
1Thess 3:1 ISV Therefore, when we could stand it no longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens
1Thess 3:2 ISV and send Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in the gospel of the Messiah, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
And they were Growing in Faith and Love!
Now in 2 Thessalonians Paul wants to encourage them.
He tells them that he BRAGS (!!) about them to the other Churches!!
WOW! Is anyone bragging about our Faith today??
And Paul assures them that God will take care of those troubling them!
2Thess 1:6 ISV Certainly it is right for God to pay back those who afflict you with affliction
2Thess 1:7 ISV and to give us who are afflicted relief when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
2Thess 1:8 ISV in blazing fire. He will take revenge on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
That relief is actually relaxation in Strong’s Definition! I Like It!
And “blazing fire” for those troubling us! BOY! I Like That!!
Think about that when somebody is really giving you trouble over your faith! 😃
And Paul wants to Explain about Jesus Coming to Catch Us Up.
And about the Prophecy TimeLine.
Paul indicates in 2 Thessalonians 2 that we are holding back Satan’s Plans by our example.
We are that person in 2 Thess. 2:6-7 ISV.
But when we go – when Jesus catches us up off this earth – then Satan will be able to bring his plan and his guy – the antichrist – out.
2Thess 2:6 ISV You know what it is that is now holding him back, so that he will be revealed when his time comes.
2Thess 2:7 ISV For the secret of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the person now holding it back gets out of the way.
2Thess 2:8 ISV Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, rendering him powerless by the manifestation of his coming.
Now some say it doesn’t matter what you believe about Prophecy.
Baloney! Paul thinks it is very important that we understand the order of God’s Prophecy Timeline!!
He shows us there in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the Church goes Up with Christ.
And THEN the antichrist can come into view.
REMEMBER What Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4.
1Thess 4:16 ISV With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first.
1Thess 4:17 ISV Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
1Thess 4:18 ISV So then, encourage one another with these words.
This Catching Up of the Church is SO Important that we can Encourage Each other talking about it!!
So Let’s Keep Looking Up. Watching for Jesus return for us.
