2nd Thessalonians 2: The Day of the Lord

Someday, Jesus Christ will return and the world as we know it will end. We do not know the day when he will return, but Paul described in an earlier letter to the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. We will not be able to predict it, and the day will sneak up on us completely unaware.

However, at the time of the 2nd letter from Paul to the Thessalonians, apparently a powerful false teaching had arisen which said the Day of the Lord had already come. Paul had to send this letter to the people so they wouldn't be frightened that they had missed Christ's return. But it goes so much deeper into explaining why Christ hasn't returned, and a so-called "Man of Lawlessness" that would also have to come before Christ returned.

³ 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. 
⁴ 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.
⁷ 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.
⁸ 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. 
⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,  
¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Many people think the Man of Lawlessness is the eventual AntiChrist who will set himself up on Earth as a false living God. Others look at verse 7 and say that the secret power of lawlessness is already at work in Paul's day, and that the Catholic Church and the papacy is actually the true man of lawlessness deceiving the people and pretending to be God in God's temple. And another sect of people believe that the Man of Lawlessness isn't a man at all, but rather an ideal or political movement that will strive to replace God through deceit and power.

Personally? I have no idea who or what the Man of Lawlessness is, although I can see the fascination it holds for many. There's an allure to evil and what it might look like that captivates people. However, my takeaway from this chapter is from verse 8, that Jesus will overthrow this powerful and deceitful man with his very breath. Imagine how powerful Jesus Christ is that he can simply destroy somebody by breathing and showing his splendor? That is my savior and redeemer that I follow! He's the ultimate power in the universe and all knees will bow to him!

The message from Paul is simple yet important. Don't be fooled by false teachers and people working through displays of power, signs, and wonders. We should questions the teachings of all those who can perform so-called miracles to make sure they follow the Word of God. They are not from God if they fall in accordance with how Satan works. Look well into these teachings and expose them for the lies that they are. For you have the words of Jesus Christ written in the Holy Bible to guide you, and those words should be the ultimate filter for any teachings you hear.

If the teachings do not match what you know of the words of Jesus? Reject those teachings! Especially if they seem like a seductive way to do what your human flesh wants rather than serving your Lord and Savior.

Keep your eyes upon Jesus and you will know the truth that is incontrovertible. That he is Risen and he is Lord! 

1 Samuel 24: David Spares Saul

David and Saul had a complicated relationship. Both were in competition for the throne of Israel after the prophet Samuel informed King Saul that God rejected his claim to the throne. It's Samuel that leaves Saul and goes to find David, youngest of the sons of Jesse living in Bethlehem, and anoints David as the new King of Israel. But even after that anointing, it's still Saul who sits on the throne for many years.

This chapter picks up after Saul has actively been hunting for David in order to kill him:

4 David’s men told him, “Today is the day the Lord referred to when he said, ‘I’m going to hand your enemy over to you. You will do to him whatever you think is right.’” David quietly got up and cut off the border of Saul’s robe. 

5 But afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the border of Saul’s robe.  

6 He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, the Lord’s anointed king, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”  

7 So David stopped his men by saying this to them and didn’t let them attack Saul. Saul left the cave and went out onto the road.  

8 Later, David got up, left the cave, and called to Saul, “Your Majesty!” When Saul looked back, David knelt down with his face touching the ground.  
9 David asked Saul, “Why do you listen to rumors that I am trying to harm you?  
10 Today you saw how the Lord handed you over to me in the cave. Although I was told to kill you, I spared you, saying, ‘I will not raise my hand against Your Majesty because you are the Lord’s anointed.’

David had a chance to finish off his enemy and instead showed mercy to the King. Even though David was anointed by Samuel and favored by God, he could not bring himself to kill another who had been anointed by God in the past. In short, he had love for his enemy. That's an idea we wouldn't hear about again until Jesus Christ said it almost 1,000 years later.

How often do we see the misfortune of others as an opportunity for ourselves? How often do we rejoice in the plight of our enemies, or tear down those people who wronged us when they were weakest? It's human nature to seek revenge, and to revel in the consequences of the ways of the wicked. However, it's not our mandate from a heavenly perspective to return hate with hate, and we should be very careful about passing our judgement on the wicked. Only God can do that, as he did with Saul later in the battle of Gilboa where Saul was slain.

David made a very Christ-like choice before Christ even existed. That's what I find most interesting in this story. In a time where mercy was a foreign concept, David didn't press an advantage on his persecutor even though he'd been forced to retreat into a cave to survive. How long he must have waited, worried, and wondered about his future while believing in the promises of God? And when the time finally came for him to possible end it all? He showed mercy and then got mercy in return. Saul let him be, and went on to his own consequences.

May we all be so merciful. For we have been forgiven much.

Titus 2: Guidelines for Christian Living

What does Christian Living look like? In the book of Titus, Paul gives some examples of Christian living to aspire to. Older men and women should stay sober, avoiding gossip, using good judgement, and be examples of love and virtue to younger people. The young believers should also use good judgement, and teach with an aura of purity and dignity.

In verses 11-14 Paul says the following:

11 After all, God’s saving kindness Or “grace.” has appeared for the benefit of all people.  

12 It trains us to avoid ungodly lives filled with worldly desires so that we can live self-controlled, moral, and godly lives in this present world. 

13 At the same time we can expect what we hope for—the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every sin and to cleanse us so that we can be his special people who are enthusiastic about doing good things.

 

The bolded part is mine. How many of you have ever trained for something? Maybe it was in the military, or on a job, or for a sporting event? Training is usually difficult and time consuming, and it involves preparation for a difficult task that could not be done if we didn't take the time and effort to train properly. 

 

If I wanted to run a marathon, I would have to start but running a mile until I mastered that, and then 2 miles, and add on to my endurance week by week until I built up enough endurance to run the entire 26.2 mile race. I'd have to change my diet, and track my progress. I'd have to commit to a daily routine and the hours involved that I needed to run. Basically, training takes a lot of effort. Christian Living is no different. It takes a lot of effort on our part to reject the worldly pursuits and live godly lives in this world. It was no easier 2,000 years ago than it is today.

Understand this about training: you're learning, and by proxy you don't know everything. It also means we're not going to make this transition overnight. We need this training because we don't understand how to live godly lives. We will fail, we will have setbacks, and we will need to build up endurance against the adversity of this world.

The other important thing about training is that it really helps to have a Trainer. When you train alone, it's very easy to take shortcuts or give up when things get difficult. Having a Trainer keeps you focused and on task. That's the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit which resides inside us. The Holy Spirit is our ultimate Trainer. We can rely on the Spirit to guide us because Jesus gave himself up as a sacrifice for our sins.

Does that mean we have to do good deeds to be Christians? Far from it. The work in Jesus was already perfected. We do not have to gild the lily of his sacrifice. He was the perfect lamb, and his blood shed for us means that we are cleansed completely of sin, and as Paul says, "We can be his special people."

But Paul also says we can be enthusiastic about doing good things. Not required but elated! It's not our duty to live well and do good deeds, it's the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For if you are a changed and saved person, do you believe the Holy Spirit would train you to hide your faith away from public view? Of course not!

 

In Matthew 5:15 Jesus says, "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." So too, the Holy Spirit gives us light to show to all we encounter.

So when you think of Christian Living, don't fall into the trap of believing it's just about restrictions and sacrifices. Don't look at self-control as legalism and duty. We're all training for a greater goal. We're all working on a relationship with our Trainer to become the best Christians we can be. And the manifestation of that training is a mature relationship with Christ, and all the power of Christ's name that it carries.

John 19: The Crucifixion

I've picked up this blog again after almost 3 years. Funny how I started something so long ago when I first got my new job, and then immediately had to drop it because the job started to take over too many demands. That led to an eventual mental breakdown, an eventual recovery, a connection with my true love, an engagement, and a new spiritual awakening in my life. Many things have changed, and I feel like I've been led to start writing about Scripture again. However, I don't believe working through the Bible in sequence is a good idea any longer. Instead, I'm going to skip around to various parts of the Bible using a randomizer, and follow where the Spirit leads me.

Today the randomizer picked John 19, which just happens to be Jesus' execution. Thanks randomizer! Way to start off with a light topic right? However, I think believe it's a perfect place to start back up. The crucifixion is the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus laying his life down for all of us, only to conquer death with his resurrection. It's an ending, and a beginning of something infinitely greater. And so hopefully I can start something greater here with this blog, and these chapters as we study them together.

John 19 has 3 parts in the chapter. The first is Pilate talking to the crowd after he has Jesus dressed up in a mocking robe and crown of thorns to declare him the "King of the Jews." Pilate tries to get the crowd to kill Jesus rather than condemning Jesus to death himself. The second part is the crucifixion itself and Jesus' death, and the third part is Jesus being laid in a tomb. If you've ever been to a good Friday service or seen the passion, none of this is foreign to you at all.

What speaks to me today is the position of Pilate when I read this story. I never really knew much about the man, but obviously he was in some position of authority in the Roman Empire, and the temple leaders obviously feared him enough not to kill Jesus without going to him first. As a leader myself, I often saw Pilate in a very unwinnable position. He understands that Jesus is likely without fault, but he's also looking at a possible rebellion if he doesn't acquiesce to the crowd.

Pilate was a prefect in the Roman Army, which was essentially a military governor, and he was charged with governing Judea. The province of Judea at that time which included what today we know as parts of Israel, Jordan, and Palestine, was under direct Roman control because one of Herod's sons was such a bad leader that the emperor fired him and replaced him with his own governor. That title eventually changed hands until Pontius Pilate came on the scene in 26 AD.

Instead of focusing on the death of Jesus here, I'd like to focus on how Pilate reacted to Jesus, because I think it's important. Verses 6-12 detail what Pilate does when he realizes who Jesus is:

6 Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find this man guilty of anything.”

7 The Jews answered Pilate, “We have a law, and by that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

8 When Pilate heard them say that, he became more afraid than ever.  

9 He went into the palace again and asked Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus didn’t answer him.

10 So Pilate said to Jesus, “Aren’t you going to answer me? Don’t you know that I have the authority to free you or to crucify you?”

11 Jesus answered Pilate, “You wouldn’t have any authority over me if it hadn’t been given to you from above. That’s why the man who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

12 When Pilate heard what Jesus said, he wanted to free him. But the Jews shouted, “If you free this man, you’re not a friend of the emperor. Anyone who claims to be a king is defying the emperor.”

I've bolded two parts about what Pilate felt when he had Jesus in his custody. I believe we are often pulled between the words of the world, and the words of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Pilate was no different in this scenario. The world told Pilate that they had a law, and that the law meant death for the convicted. On the other hand, the words of Jesus made Pilate want to free him. Words that inspired death came from the world, and words that inspired freedom came from Christ.

It's an interesting thought for me, and something I wonder about when I think of Pilate: Did he sense the truth about Jesus as the Christ? Or was it simple self-preservation at it's highest to keep the crowd from rebelling in his province. I'm not sure, but the words of John give me more pause than in other gospel accounts. I can put myself in Pilate's shoes as a man given authority from above to choose which Master I'm going to serve. Will I serve an earthly law, or my heavenly Master in Jesus Christ?

Pilate ultimately gave into the crowd. He chose poorly and condemned a man he knew to be innocent to death, just so he could appease a worldly mob. How often do we also deny Christ in favor of worldly satisfaction or mollification. Christ died for us so that we would not have to suffer an eternal life without God, that our death would not be the final death, and that we would live in paradise with him. That was all impossible under the law. The law had failed, and it failed again that day when Jesus was executed after a mockery of a trial under the law.

What I take away from this chapter today is how when we hear Jesus and we feel the stirrings of freedom in our very souls, or when we fear the world and we know it's supposed truths to be nothing but falsehoods? We should run into the open arms of a loving Father, opened by the sacrifice of his Son, and dwelling inside of us in the Holy Spirit. We should stand proudly before the World and declare His Truth rather than meekly acquiesce to the mob.

And in that action we will stand firmly on solid ground. Just like in the words of the hymn, "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.