NOVEMBER 29

Second Letter to the Thessalonians

 

Paul's first letter seemingly causes some misunderstanding among the Thessalonians, many of whom interpreted it as saying that the second coming would be taking place right away. Therefore Paul sends a second letter to clarify this misunderstanding. He points to some of the events which will precede the second coming and-admonishes them to continue working both for their own support and for the Lord.

 

 

SALUTATION 2 Thess. 1:1,2.   

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.

 

PRAISING STEADFASTNESS. 2 Thess. 1:3,4   

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. Therefore,  among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

 

ENDURANCE TO BE REWARDED. 2 Thess. 1:5-10

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. 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 majesty of his power 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.

 

PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THEM. 2 Thess. 1:11,12

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompt­ed by your 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.'1

 

EVENTS BEFORE SECOND COMING. 2 Thess. 2:1-12

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not 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. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for ,that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness1 is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 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? 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 till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accor­dance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit mira­cles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. 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 believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

 

CALL TO STAND FIRM. 2 Thess. 2:13-17    

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you/ 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. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

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.

 

REQUEST FOR PRAYER. 2 Thess. 3:1-5

 Finally, brothers, 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 men, for not everyone has faith. But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen 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.

 

WARNING AGAINST IDLENESS. 2 Thess. 3:6-15

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle 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 make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busy-bodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to set­tle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

 

BENEDICTION. 2 Thess. 3:16-18

 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.

 

The historical record continues with this account of Paul being perse­cuted in Corinth.

 

CHARGES BEFORE GALLIO Acts 18:12-17

While Gallic was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law."

Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallic said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallic showed no concern whatever.

 

 

RETURN TO ANTIOCH. Acts18:18-22 

Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because of a vow he had taken. They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus. When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

 

Third Missionary Journey

Luke does not indicate how long Paul stays in Antioch after returning from his second missionary journey. But it is probably not long before    Paul is once again preparing for an extended evangelistic tour. He begins his third journey by passing north and west through Galatia and Phrygia. It is clear that Paul continues to be concerned about the spiritual growth of those whom he had converted several years earlier.

Paul then travels on through Asia to its capital, Ephesus, and thereby ful­fills a desire he first felt on his second tour, when he was directed by the Holy Spirit to Macedonia instead. It appears that Paul relishes the opportunity to be in this important city, because He stays here for approximately three years. Of special significance during this time are letters which Paul writes to the church in Corinth—a church which has developed some serious problems since Paul last visited with them.

 

 

 

 

BEGINNING OF JOURNEY. Acts 18:23

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

 

APOLLOS IS TAUGHT. Acts18:24-28

 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor m and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

 

DISCIPLES REBAPTIZED Acts 19:1-7 

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the Ephesus  road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when" you believed?"

They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."

So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"

 

"John's baptism," they replied.

Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one corning after him, that is, in Jesus." On hear­ing this, they were baptized into" the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues'1 and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.

 

MINISTRY IN EPHESUS. Acts 19:8-10

Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

 

EXORCISTS USE JESUS' NAME. Acts 19:11-16

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spir­its left them.

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 1 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.

 

SORCERY GIVEN UP. Acts 19:17-20

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. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they cal­culated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 1 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

 

PAUL ANTICIPATES JOURNEY. Acts 19:21-22    

 After all this had happened, Paul de­cided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also." He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.