2 Thessalonians 3:6-18

Finishing up with 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18.

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 busybodies. 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.

Interesting, no?

I suppose it is this kind of passage that leads some people to believe (incorrectly) that there is a Bible verse that says, "God helps those who help themselves."

But certainly the idea of taking care of yourself appears to be a strong sentiment in this passage. One wonders, would the American meta-narrative of free market capitalism and the pursuit of happiness have been possible without the theological foundation of the so called Protestant work ethic?

I think it is understood that for those who are not able bodied, they could receive the help of the church. Imagine if you will a farmer who gets injured such that he is no longer physically able to do the work of the farmer. Or someone who is a craftsman who loses the usage of hands or has failing eyesight. I would believe that Paul would not throw those people out on the streets but would urge the church to care for them.

One of the things that is interesting about the history of the Christian faith is that even though Christians believe that one day Jesus will bring about the kingdom in fullness and reality, this, as a general rule, has not resulted in Christians doing nothing in terms of trying to right the wrongs of society in the here and now. Christians have been and continue to be at the fore in building hospitals, schools, orphanages, soup kitchens, rehab centers, etc.

So just as there may be a theological foundation for the Protestant work ethic, there is a theological foundation for compassion: the moral teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures, the words and deeds of Jesus and the reality that at a basic level we are all the same - sinners in need of a Savior and bearers (if somewhat faded and mangled) of the image of God.

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.

Paul ends with a blessing of peace and grace. I am curious what the distinguishing mark of his writing. Did Paul have a unique signature? Might he have wrote with a dramatic flourish like one of the famous signers of the Declaration of Independence?


image source: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/colonial/hancock_2

Or might he have some strange way of writing certain letters or words?

Who knows but apparently their may have been people running around sending letters claiming to be Paul and thus confusing people.

Lord, thank you for the opportunities you provide in my life. Help me to do my best in it. Help me to be grateful for it. Help me to give to the needs of others. Thank you that You have moved in the hearts of special people who become people helpers. Please bless them in their efforts. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

Previously, I wondered about the ratio of verses in 1 and 2 Thessalonians that were about the future and which were about the here and now.

Here is a quick look:
I Thessalonians verses that appear to be about the future
Chapter 1: 1 verse of 10
Chapter 2: 1 verse of 20
Chapter 3: 1 verse of 13
Chapter 4: 6 verses of 18
Chapter 5: 12 verses of 28.
II Thessalonians verses that appear to be about the future
Chapter 1: 6 verses of 12
Chapter 2: 12 verses of 17
Chapter 3: 0 verses of 18.

Thus, 39 verses out of 136 which is about 29%.

2 Thessalonians 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.

We need that prayer today just as much as Paul needed it then. With all our modern communication technology, the message of the Lord can spread so many ways. But even with all the technology in hand, the message is not just words but it is carried about by you and me. If I sit here and blog about the message of the Lord, is it done so in a clear, intelligent and attractive manner?

When I live my life can people see it even without my words.

There is a quote from St. Francis:

Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.

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.

There is evil in this world. As much as moral relativism is such a common thing among people these days, when push comes to shove, most people will eventually have to admit that evil exists. I suppose the realization that is hard for many of us is that we think of "big evils" out there and overlook our own "little evils."

In Paul's day, following Jesus was a risking thing and so prayers for protection and deliverance took on a practical urgency. In our world today, there are places where this is still true.

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.

Where does Paul's authority come from such that he can say, you should do the things we command?

I suppose part of it could be his commanding presence?

We all know people who seem to have a certain aura about them such that they have the E.F. Hutton effect (an old advertising slogan for those too young to remember!):

When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.

I also suppose some of the authority comes from the fact that the commands might simply be recitations of teachings from the Torah and Jesus' explanations and illustrations of those core teachings.

The prayer ends with a commitment of the Thessalonians to God's love which we all can grasp. But it also commits them to Christ's perseverance. That is an unusual phrase?

The Greek word for perseverance is Hupomone which is used 31 times in the NT. It is used 1 time in 1 Thessalonians and 2 times in 2 Thessalonians. It means: steadfastness, constancy, endurance.

Thus, just as one quality of God is love, another quality of God demonstrated through Christ is perseverance. Jesus came to earth on a mission to live, die on the Cross and be raised from the dead. He did so with steadfastness, constancy and endurance. Thus, in prayer, we can entrust each other into Christ's perseverance so that we too can live life with steadfastness, constancy and endurance.

Lord, may you spread your message far and wide through us and may some receive it and honor it and choose to follow you as a result. Lord, strengthen those of your faithful servants who face persecution in this world. Give them courage to endure and if possible deliverance but in all cases may they be lights in this world pointing to you. Lord, help me to be a vehicle of your love to this world and an example of single minded persistence to be like Jesus. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 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.

The above passage is from 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 which comes after bunch of thoughts on the Return of Christ.

The theology of the Second Coming of Christ is complex but its bottom line is simple: Jesus will be victorious over evil and will balance the scales of justice at the end.

Interestingly, if you think about the last few decades, secularists also have end is near scenarios. There have been movies about dreadful visions of the future of life on earth (remember Logan's Run?) or the chaos of the planet due to overpopulation (remember Soylent Green?) and many other films probably a bit less obscure! Today's end of the world concern is global warming. As a brief tangent, from a Judeo-Christian world view (God is the creator and humans are stewards of the creation), there is justification to be concerned about our environment. The challenge is finding the balance of addressing current human suffering and forestalling future human suffering, i.e. should we spend a billion dollars to treat malaria or one billion dollars to fix global warming? Chew on that one a bit!

In the context of theology, though, I think the balance is shifted a bit toward the here and now and thus, the focus returns back to the here and now in Paul and co-worker's prayer for the Thessalonians.

Gratitude is the very first thing out of their lips.

Gratitude for what?

They are LOVED by the Lord. The daisy chain of God's love ... (1) begins with God's choice (2) saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit (3) your belief in the truth (4) called you through the gospel and (5) ends with sharing in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, "end times" theology is only part 5 of the story! We are given enough details to know it will be challenging but that the end is good.

Stand firm and hold on!

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Remember, this letter was received probably around AD 50-51. The body of teaching they had would have largely been oral. They would have had the Hebrew Scriptures. Of the 4 Gospels, it is generally held that Mark is the oldest with a date in the 50s. Matthew and Luke are thought to be compiled in the 60s drawing from Mark and other sources. John's gospel is believed to be from the 80s-90s. So perhaps the Thessalonians had possession of Jesus teachings in the form of circulated copies of Mark and in the form of oral tradition.

As for other NT letters, the Thessalonians would have copies of this letter and 1 Thessalonians. The 11 other letters of the New Testament written by Paul came later. The letters by the other NT writers also came later with the likely exception of James which is believed to be the earliest NT book dating to perhaps the 40s.

I wonder if one where a theology student, could one write a dissertation based these circumstances: "Elements of the teaching of James in 1 and 2 Thessalonians?" Or, "A chronological assessment of Pauline theology?"

In any case, the advice is hold on to what you have been taught. If one were to take 1 and 2 Thessalonians together and mark off which verses key in on how we should live and compare it to the number of verses that talk about the future hope of Christ's return, I wonder what the ratio would be?

My gut instincts tell me the ratio is 2:1 in favor of the here and now. Perhaps, I'll have to tally it up for a future blog post.

Blessing

Indeed, Paul closes out this section with a benediction where there is mention of the future but with the emphasis on the here and now: 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.

Lord, thank you that you sent Jesus to bring us back into relationship with you through his life, death and resurrection. Thank you that you have sent the Spirit to do the work of making us more holy. Help me to cooperate with you in the renovation of my soul. Lord, there are times I am discouraged by my faltering progress and my poor reaction to circumstances in life. Lord, strengthen and encourage my whole being toward doing good in word and deed. Help me to encourage others to do likewise. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12

Continuing on in a look see through 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12.

The Thessalonians were concerned that Jesus might have returned and they got left behind so Paul addressed that concern by telling them some things have to happen before Jesus returns:
(1) A rebellion occurs

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs

(2) The man of lawlessness is revealed

and the man of lawlessness 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?

However, we have to remember, the Thessalonians probably received this teaching around AD 50-51. So it is possible that what was for them future is now in our past!

Anyway, Paul continued to remind them of what he had taught them.
(1) There was something restraining the lawlessness

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 ...

Now, what is this restrainer?

Unfortunately, they knew but we don't. Too bad Paul didn't reiterate his teaching on this matter. If anyone claims to know what/who the restrainer is, I'd like to see their line of thought. My guess is that they are guessing. I've heard people say it is a powerful angel. Another said it is the church. I've heard some say it is the Holy Spirit. But it is all speculation.

But in spite of all this "build up" for this, Paul told them, Jesus is going to win.
(2) Jesus will overthrow the lawlessness at his coming

whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

Just like God brings about the universe in Genesis by saying so, Jesus is going to defeat evil just as easily.

Paul went on to elaborate more on this lawless one.

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.

What I'd be really curious about is to what degree Paul was simply expounding on what Jesus taught in Matthew 24 which is very similar to what is here in this passage.

One wonders if in the oral traditions and in hypothetical earlier (but now lost) written compilations of Jesus teachings, there was more details than what we have in Matthew 24?

In any case, what we have is what we have and as for me it is enough to know that Jesus is going to win!

I know some authors and preachers have constructed very detailed pictures of how the Second Coming of Jesus will be like.

I think they are interesting but I tend to be skeptical because the Jews, familiar with their Scriptures, had various pictures in their heads of what the Messiah would be like. Jesus came along and many thought: nope, not the Messiah!

And so today, for us to be excessively confident about explicit details of Jesus Second Coming would be foolhardy.

As a small window into the realm of the Hebrew Scriptures taking into account Jesus and Christian interpretation, let's check out Daniel 9:20-27.

Imagine you are a dedicated Jewish person and you open up the scrolls to read Daniel and see the following:

Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.

It is generally believed that this was fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple. But what does that Jewish person think when the Temple of Jerusalem is completely destroyed in AD 70? It would seem like deja vu all over again.

Indeed, Jesus used this kind of language in Matthew 24 when the disciples asked (1) when the Temple would be destroyed, (2) when Jesus would come back and (3) when the end of times would be.

In the mind of Jesus, it happened once before and it would happen again.

Will it happen a third time?

Lord, you spoke the universe into existence. In your wisdom you allowed us to have the freedom to choose to follow you or to rebel. You have sent Jesus to make restoration possible. The tide of your righteousness is rolling in and one day it will sweep away all lawlessness. But until that day, help me to fight the part of me that is disobedient. Help me to bring in peace and love and truth to the places and peoples around me. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 gives us Paul's teaching on when the day of the Lord will arrive.

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. 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.

Right off the bat we see two events: (1) the rebellion occurs and (2) the man of lawlessness is revealed.

What I wonder is to what degree is Paul expanding on what Jesus said in Matthew 24 and to what degree did Paul receive additional revelation from God?

Matthew 24:10 said: At that time many will turn away from the faith which seems similar though the Greek words are not the same. In 2 Thessalonians the word is apostasia while in Matthew 24 it is skandalisthesontai.

The idea of lawlessness more closely tracks with Jesus teaching in Matthew 24:12, Because of the increase of wickedness. In that one the Greek word is anomian and in 2 Thessalonians it is anomias. I'm not a Greek scholar but I'm guessing those words are similar!

What this man of lawlessness does seems similar to Matthew 24:15, So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel.

But at this point, what can we say?

Has this happened already? Or is it happening now? Or is it still in the future?

For those who say it has happened already, they point to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. In addition, the Roman slaughter of the Jews at that time was of holocaust proportions. As for the Temple, all that is left is the Western Wall known today as the Wailing Wall.



image source: http://www.biblestudy.org/biblepic/picture-of-wailing-wall-dome-of-the-rock.html

It is generally believed that Paul wrote the letters to the Thessalonians in AD 50-51! Thus, can you imagine a young Thessalonian believer of say 13 years of age, at age 33 hearing news that the Temple in Jerusalem was demolished, the city razed and Jews slaughters in massive proportions? Would they have connected it with Paul's teachings, Jesus's discourse and Daniel's prophecies?

Is it happening today?

Is the lawlessness of the world today any more pronounced than in the past? I don't know. Humans have been and are and will continue to be sinners. Within the context of Western society, one might say our sinfulness is more public than it used to be. In the past, our sins were kept quiet but today with 24/7 news media, the dirty laundry of the rich and famous and even of ordinary people will be blasted on cable news, the internet and the tabloids. So in some ways, we are more lawless in that the same ambient level of sin is now more public.

Is it in the future?

Paul's specificity of description does tend to point to a future event if one takes what he wrote in a very literal fashion: 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.

Has one specific person in human history done that? I don't think so. And since the temple was destroyed that can't happen right now.

Thus, you can see why this passage is a source of confusion.

In summary, it seemed that Paul was saying what Jesus said in a different way. Was it further revelation from God to Paul? Was it Paul drawing from oral tradition about Jesus we no longer have access to? Don't know.

Both Jesus and Paul being acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures they would know Daniel. So in the next blog post, we will just have to go back to Daniel and keep following the line of thought.

Lord, you are the God of history. I live in a tiny span of time. How my times fit into your plans I do not know. But I do know that you want me to live my short march of time in this life with an eye toward your kingdom. With the perspective that you are in charge of my life and that you want me to do justice, love mercy and to walk humbly with you. Help me to do that today and for however long I have breath. Amen.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

Am looking at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 this morning.

Sigh.

This is one of those passages that is a bit confusing. What we have on hand is Paul's response to something ...

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.

But what was the something that prompted this response?

We can only put together a few loose pieces.

The important piece was that the Thessalonians were being mislead by somebody to think Jesus had come back and had gathered the saints and that they had been left behind. That would indeed be a source of anxiety!

What we don't have was how did the Thessalonian church view the return of Jesus?

I heard theologian Robert Morgan talk about how scholars believe there are three layers of knowledge regarding the words and deeds of Jesus. (1) Jesus actual words and deeds (2) the oral traditions and first writings of the earliest followers of Jesus (3) the consolidation of those traditions into the Four Gospels we have today.

This process was nicely and thoroughly explained in this series of posts by Mark D. Roberts where he addressed the question, "Are the New Testament Gospels reliable?"

He provides this helpful diagram in that blog post:



Image source: http://www.markdroberts.com/htmfiles/resources/gospelsreliable.htm#sep2905

What we have in hand are the 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The Gospels as we know them were probably not yet written at the time of this letter to the Thessalonians. They had some (most?) of layer number two (the oral traditions and early writings) but probably not all the elements of layer two that eventually was distilled into the four Gospels? Thus, what was their understanding of the Return of Jesus?

We simply don't know. The fact that they were worried about it meant that there was probably a general belief that the Return would be relatively soon. Some believe the reason the Gospel records were not produced immediately after Jesus resurrection was that the early church didn't anticipate having to wait around very long. However, when it became apparent that Jesus had not yet returned and the church was spreading far and wide, the need to preserve the teachings and deeds of Jesus became an imperative.

In any case, Paul assured them that the day had not yet come. In fact, he gave them signs to look for that apparently were not yet in place to assure them that the Return was still in the future.

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. 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.

Questions I can't answer: (1) since these events were in the future from the perspective of the Thessalonians have these events occurred and is thus in the past for us? (2) what are these events suppose to be?

More on this topic in the next blog post.

Lord, don't know what this passage means. I think it is still in the future. I trust in your control events even if I don't understand them. I look at the world today and it sure looks lawless. Whether is it hateful violence in some far away parts of this world like Darfur and Iraq or close by in my city where gangs control parts of Los Angeles, terrible things are happening. Lord, speed the day when your justice and peace will reign on this earth as it is in heaven. In the meantime, help me in the realms of my life to bring in your kingdom. Amen.