2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
Paul is addressing a false teaching, supposedly coming from him, which said that the Lord had already returned. Paul assures the church that the teaching did not come from him and that it is false. He reminds them that Christ will not return until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed. He gives no further information about the rebellion which causes me to conclude that it was common knowledge to the people of that time. He does give further information about the man of lawlessness: he will claim to be God, settining himself up in the temple of God.
This raises several questions for me: how literally are we supposed to take this passage? Does the man of lawlessness literally set himself up on the temple of God? The plain reading of this passage would indicate that Paul is talking about the temple in Jerusalem but that means that for Christ to return, the temple has to be rebuilt. I've always been taught that Christ's return was imminent but the temple is no where close to being built. Is Paul talking about another temple? Is the "day of the Lord" referring to something else besides the return of Christ? I don't think that's the answer since it is linked directly to the "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him" (which sounds a lot like the rapture).
In my dispensationalist upbringing, the gathering of the saints takes place about 7 years before the literal thousand year rain of Christ. So, Christ comes and gathers his followers, taking them to heaven which sets in motion the Tribulation. Then the man of lawlessness is revealed, the rebellion occurs and, at the end of the Tribulation, Christ returns with his followers to defeat the man of lawlessness and his armies. However, Paul seems to see the two (Christ gathering the saints and the day of the Lord) as one and the same.
I don't have a lot of answers here. However, I would say that the theology of end times that I have been taught bears a second look.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
made worthy and full of glory
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
As in almost all of Paul's letters, he includes his prayer for the church. Paul is concerned that the Thessalonians would be worthy of God's calling and that they would see fruit from their work and faith so that Jesus would be glorified in them and they would be glorified in Him. Paul picks up on his favourite theme: grace. The only way that Paul's prayer will be answered is because of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
This prayer is packed! His first request is that they would be made worthy of the calling of God. This is obviously only by the grace of God and it is no wonder that Christ would be glorified if this prayer was answered - it would be a testament to his power and the completion of his work. The catch is that we are probably least worthy of the calling when we feel the most worthy of the calling. I saw Narnia: Caspian last night (I know, I'm behind in my movie watching - that's what having a child and living on one income will do to you) and the line that stood out to me was when Prince Caspian said, "I'm not sure that I'm ready." Aslan replied, "That's what makes me sure you are." The same goes for our calling - we are at our best and most worthy when we realize that we are not ready and not worthy because that forces us to lean and rely on the One who is and who can make us worthy.
The second request is that every desire for goodness and every deed prompted by faith would be brought to fruition. Can you imagine?! This ties closely to what the Psalm says about God giving me the desires of my heart and what Jesus says about asking for anything in his name. The key is at the beginning of the request: "by his power..." There seems to be two mindsets that people fall into: it is all up to me and my efforts or I can just sit back and do nothing because it is all up to God and by his strength. Paul agrees with both - work hard with a complete reliance on God's power. His power will bring to fruition my work as long as my work is motivated by my faith in God's power ("every deed promtped by faith").
The ultimate desire is the glory of Christ. I am only worthy of God's call when I am seeking Christ's glory and not my own. My deeds and desires will only be brought to fruition when they are motivated by Christ's glory and not my own. I must not serve myself. I must not even serve this church. I must serve Christ above all else. It is for Christ and his glory!
God, may this be true of me.
As in almost all of Paul's letters, he includes his prayer for the church. Paul is concerned that the Thessalonians would be worthy of God's calling and that they would see fruit from their work and faith so that Jesus would be glorified in them and they would be glorified in Him. Paul picks up on his favourite theme: grace. The only way that Paul's prayer will be answered is because of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
This prayer is packed! His first request is that they would be made worthy of the calling of God. This is obviously only by the grace of God and it is no wonder that Christ would be glorified if this prayer was answered - it would be a testament to his power and the completion of his work. The catch is that we are probably least worthy of the calling when we feel the most worthy of the calling. I saw Narnia: Caspian last night (I know, I'm behind in my movie watching - that's what having a child and living on one income will do to you) and the line that stood out to me was when Prince Caspian said, "I'm not sure that I'm ready." Aslan replied, "That's what makes me sure you are." The same goes for our calling - we are at our best and most worthy when we realize that we are not ready and not worthy because that forces us to lean and rely on the One who is and who can make us worthy.
The second request is that every desire for goodness and every deed prompted by faith would be brought to fruition. Can you imagine?! This ties closely to what the Psalm says about God giving me the desires of my heart and what Jesus says about asking for anything in his name. The key is at the beginning of the request: "by his power..." There seems to be two mindsets that people fall into: it is all up to me and my efforts or I can just sit back and do nothing because it is all up to God and by his strength. Paul agrees with both - work hard with a complete reliance on God's power. His power will bring to fruition my work as long as my work is motivated by my faith in God's power ("every deed promtped by faith").
The ultimate desire is the glory of Christ. I am only worthy of God's call when I am seeking Christ's glory and not my own. My deeds and desires will only be brought to fruition when they are motivated by Christ's glory and not my own. I must not serve myself. I must not even serve this church. I must serve Christ above all else. It is for Christ and his glory!
God, may this be true of me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
