Sunday Sermon Notes: March 14, 2021

Posted on March 14, 2021 by Don Merritt

Title: Glorious!

Text: Matthew 28:18-20

John 21:1-14

The disciples got out of the city and went back to Galilee, probably a smart move. One evening at the Sea of Galilee, Peter suddenly announced that he was going fishing, and all seven of them who were present got into a boat and went out on the lake; John doesn’t say anything about the other four, and of course, Judas was dead. After an all-night fishing trip, they caught exactly nothing.

Very early the next morning, a man on the shore saw them and asked how they were doing, only to hear that they hadn’t caught a thing. “Try casting your net on the right side,” suggested the helpful man, which they did. Lo and behold, they had a huge catch! That was when it occurred to John that the man on the shore was none other than Jesus.

Peter grabbed his clothes and jumped into the water and struggled to swim to shore to meet Him while the other guys struggled to haul their catch to shore where they encountered a shocking sight: Jesus was indeed there and He had a cook fire going: The risen Savior of the World was cooking breakfast!

Who’d have thought that after having been crucified, buried and then rising again from the grave that Jesus in His great glory would trouble Himself with cooking breakfast? Yet there He was; He had some fish and some bread, and He called to the guys at the boat to bring some of the fish they had caught so He could cook them up for the guys.

They all sat out there on the rocky beach and ate breakfast.

Take a moment to let that sink in…

Most of the time when I hear sermons that mention this passage, the preacher says that this proves that Jesus rose bodily from the grave, and I must admit that this is true; spirits and ghosts don’t eat fish as far as I know, and I would have to add that they also probably don’t cook, but there is so much more on display here.

There were seven disciples present, as I have mentioned, but seven is the number of completeness in the Bible; they represented all followers of Jesus. Jesus had some fish and some bread that He was serving by the Sea of Galilee; does this remind you of anything?

Of course, it’s just like the story of the feeling of the 5,000 where the disciples gathered up some loaves of bread and a few fish and Jesus multiplied them so that they could feed 5,000 people and have more left over than they had started with; remember?

There is a crucial difference however, for before, the disciples gathered up a little, and Jesus multiplied it. This time, Jesus had a little and the disciples multiplied it… with a little help from Jesus. In this scene, Jesus was passing the torch to His disciples, and the torch was His Kingdom. From now on, Jesus, the embodiment of the Kingdom, was no longer the one who would present the Kingdom to the world, with all that entails, for it was now His disciples who embodied the Kingdom on the earth, and with a little help from Him, they would spread it to every corner of the globe.

The Kingdom of God rose from the grave with Jesus, and now it is with us. From that time to this, it is the followers of Jesus who are entrusted with building His Kingdom on earth. From that time to this, it is His followers who bring that Kingdom to the world, and that Kingdom still brings with it healing, wholeness and God’s love and mercy to a world that needs these things so desperately: In doing so diligently, we bring glory to God.

It is my hope that you will join me and rededicate yourself to redoubling your efforts to glorify God by doing your part to build His glorious Kingdom until He returns.

 

Sometime later, Jesus is about to ascend to Heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and rule the universe as King of kings and Lord of lords, yet before He does so, there is one more thing…

Jesus will give them their marching orders:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

It was to be able to give this commend that Jesus had come to the earth in the first place. Usually, we like to say that Jesus came to the earth to die for our sins, and this is certainly a true statement, for God’s love for us was really that great; He didn’t want any to perish. If we just leave it at that, however, there is a grave danger that we might overlook the fact that God wasn’t simply acting for our benefit, rather, He was acting to advance His purpose in creating humanity in the first place, to restore humanity to a place where He could truly have fellowship with us. In short, the work of Jesus on the cross was not the end, but the new beginning of Creation.

It is vitally important that we understand this.

The next step is for the Kingdom torch to pass from Jesus to His servants, and that is what Jesus is doing in this text. He symbolized it in John 21, as we saw; He commanded it here in Matthew 28.

They were to make disciples, just as Jesus had done with them, and in doing this, they began in earnest to build the Kingdom on this earth − they became fishers of men. After this, Jesus told them to return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and then He ascended to Heaven. With this, the story of His earthly ministry came to its close, and a whole new beginning was about to burst upon this world.

 

In a short time, the Spirit came upon them; this and its aftermath is described in Acts chapter 2. Whatever their initial reactions may have been, the Apostles took the building of the Kingdom seriously, as we know from the story told in Acts, and in the letters they left behind. We also know from the writings of the early church fathers that their work was continued in the generations that followed them. Even more, the record of history for the many centuries after that contain the stories of those great men and women of faith who worked tirelessly to build His Kingdom. Yes, of this there can be no doubt, even though along with the great heroes of the faith, we must admit that there were also those who were not heroes, but villains; some things never seem to change.

The Devil didn’t sit still during these centuries of course, things haven’t always been easy, mistakes were made, and many chose the wrong path, but even so, the Kingdom went forward, and that brings us to the here and now. Do we have a role to play in building the Kingdom of God; or are we merely spectators? We may be spectators when it comes to history that is already done, but what about the history that is being made now?

Are you a spectator or a participant?

All of us like to consider what Jesus has done for us on the cross and take comfort in the fact that He paid the price for our sins. We also like to say that because of what He did, we have the gift of eternal life, and that just as He rose from the grave, so shall we. It is perfectly proper and accurate to say such things. At this point, each of us must ask ourselves if that is all there is to the story. Jesus came and did this great stuff for me. Jesus loves me. For God so loved… me.

Is it just really all about me?

Or is it really all about Him and His purpose?

Our destinies will be built upon our answers to that question.

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Bonus Post: Authorship of 2 Thessalonians

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Don Merritt

Throughout the centuries, there has been some discussion about whether or not Paul really wrote 2 Thessalonians. While this discussion has been primarily in the scholarly sphere, in recent years it has grown in intensity with many coming to the conclusion that the letter was written by another person after Paul’s death; some have even suggested that it was written to an entirely different church. Most of the time, I leave these discussions to others, but in this instance, I thought you might find it interesting to take a look…

Most often, challenges to Pauline authorship fall into four main areas. First, some argue on the grounds that Paul seems to some to have changed his view of eschatology (study of end times). Adherents to this view claim that in the first letter, Paul expressed the immediate likelihood of the Lord’s return, and in the second letter that he placed a series on things in the way that must happen before Jesus can return, claiming also that these signs have not yet been accomplished even in our time.

Second, some have argued that the tone of the second letter is much cooler and more formal than the first letter, which expressed great personal warmth between Paul and his recipients.

Third, some have asserted that Paul wrote the first letter to a largely Gentile audience, while the second letter appears to be written to a Jewish audience, because of references it contains that only someone with a Jewish background could have understood. Once again, these are eschatological in nature, and found in 2:2-14, with the “Temple of God” being at the fore.

A final observation from some is that Paul’s sentence structure in 2:2-14 is more complex, with a more frequent use of the genitive and subordination of conjunctions, which is not found in other Pauline writing.

As I write this, I hope you will understand that I am only giving a brief and basic synopsis of the positions on both sides of the ‘debate’ that scholars would be making here, but then I’m writing a humble blog post and not a piece for an academic journal. I hope to lay it out simply here in a way that anyone can follow, and would suggest a more academically minded person seek out further information if interested.

The argument for Pauline authorship usually relies on a couple of relatively simple facts: First, not only did the eschatology not change, but Paul isn’t writing this to be an eschatological statement, for his purpose in writing the second letter is to address a specific problem, namely that the Thessalonians have been misinformed in an attempt to deceive them, and he wished to prove Jesus had not yet returned. Secondly, in both his first mention of the Lord’s return in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11, and in 2 Thessalonians 2, the Lord is portrayed as able to return at any time, for as we saw when we carefully looked at the text, there is nothing to indicate a series of future events or signs that precede His return, but instead the second letter portrays a present reality, not a future series of signs.

As to the second point, the tone of the letter is different from that of the first, but so is the occasion of the second letter. Paul’s first letter was written to them to express his deep personal concern for them and to encourage them, the second letter was written to address a specific problem that had come up. .. and to encourage them. Obviously, these 2 letters would have a different tone.

The third point seems dubious at best that the two letters are written to different audiences. Again, in our discussion of 2 Thessalonians 2, we saw what role his reference to the Temple of God was, and that it wasn’t a literal prediction, but rather that it carried a much larger and more important purpose. If it did refer to the literal Jerusalem Temple, and it was written several years after Paul’s death, then it would have already been destroyed, making the likelihood of another author passing it off as terribly unlikely.

As to the sentence structure in 2 Thessalonians being different than other of Paul’s writings, I must point out that Paul’s writing style wasn’t all that consistent, and that there are other cases where Paul wrote in a way that is unique in his writings. We need search no further than Romans for such an instance, a book that is universally accepted as being written by Paul. He uses a rhetorical question frequently in Romans: “What shall we say then?” (3:5; 4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 8:31; 9:14, 30) where else does he do this in his writings? As for me, I think this concern for style is seriously over-stated.

At the end of the day, good scholarship requires asking many questions and investigating many working theories, and to be clear, this is as it should be. I would certainly invite anyone who wants more information or study on this subject to dig deeper; by all means arrive at your own conclusion. As for me, I always ask myself if the search is worth it; no really, that’s what I ask myself. You see, we can research and dig and compose brilliant theological pieces about our investigation, and we can try to prove many things, but if we aren’t making disciples in the process, we aren’t doing the thing the Lord asked us to do; it’s as if we’ve gone down a trail that’s off the main road where Jesus is walking, and when all the dust settles, I’d rather be at His side on the main trail, than lost in the woods somewhere along the way.

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Out of the Frying Pan…

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Don Merritt

…and into the fire.

We figured out what was going on in verses 1-4 with some detective work, and now we must grab our sleuth garb once more as we continue into these verses:

Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His [f]coming;9 that is, the one whose [g]coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and [h]signs and false wonders, 10 and with [i]all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

2Thessalonians 2:5-10 (NASB)

I usually don’t do this, but for this discussion, I’ve left the verse and footnote markers in place; they will be important for us here.

Verse 5 is easy to understand, but it also makes our caution lights go on; Paul is reminding the Thessalonians that he has already taught them about all of this, so they should already understand what’s going on. While this statement might have reminded them of his earlier teachings and thus helped them understand their current situation, it tells us that Paul might not feel the need to mention every detail again, and since we were not present when he taught the Thessalonians in the first place, our job is likely to be made more difficult, as is the case. Verse 6 is not the best literary sentence Paul ever came up with, and not his easiest for us to follow.

It follows his teaching of verses 3-4, so that we now know all about the man of lawlessness, all we need to figure out is this “holding back” business. Since the man of lawlessness is Satan, and “lawlessness” is sin, rebellion… apostasy, then who might be holding him back until the time comes for him to be revealed (exposed)? Only God can fill this bill entirely, so let’s assume Paul is referring to God for now, and see if that is confirmed in the rest of the text.

This brings us to verse 7, which is the crucial verse. As I read it, the “mystery of lawlessness” is Satan because he is the “man of lawlessness” who deceives, and who has not yet been revealed or exposed, thus he is mysterious. The man of lawlessness is “already at work” as the Thessalonians are well aware (remember this!) but he and his work are being restrained. That might have come as a surprise to the Thessalonians who were being harshly persecuted, as it may also come as a surprise to many today who see Satan and his works seemingly running rampant all over the world, but he is being restrained or held back even now.

Do you recall my little theory from a few passages back? I mentioned there that God was restraining the works of Satan, and cited at least one example: Why did they arrest and kill Jesus, but not also arrest and kill His disciples? Why didn’t the temple guards arrest and kill the Apostles at Pentecost?

God will not permit His eternal purpose to be destroyed by Satan.

Satan has leeway right now, but he can only go so far, for he is being restrained.  If you’re sharp, you’re recalling the story of Job right about now…

Continuing in verse 7: “…only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way” we need to consider who is going to be taken out of the way. The word “he” appears here twice. The first “he” is God, but is God also the second “he”? Unless we can think of someone who can actually remove God from the situation, I highly doubt it. The subject of the sentence is “the mystery of lawlessness”, thus the second “he” is the mystery of lawlessness, and we’ve solved that particular mystery already; it is Satan.  So, here’s the picture: Satan is busy at work trying to ruin God’s plan. God is allowing this to play out for now, but is only letting Satan go so far, until the time comes for God to take Satan out for good.

Verse 8 confirms this picture, but does verse 9?

This is why I left the footnotes in place; the footnotes in the NASB for both verses 8 and 9 are the same, for the Greek word is the same. The footnote says: “or presence”. The Greek word is parousia which means “presence” or “coming” and the tense is determined by the context. Since verse 7 clearly tells us that the man of lawlessness is already on the scene and hard at work, context should tell us that verse 9 should have been rendered “presence” and verse 8 “coming” because the whole point of this chapter is that Jesus hasn’t come yet, but Satan is here now. Therefore, both verses 8 and 9 confirm our understanding of verses 7 and 8.

Oh! In all of the excitement, I almost forgot to mention that Paul finally names names in verse 9. The presence of the man of lawlessness is in accord with the works of… (drum roll please)… Satan: of course it is, for the man of lawlessness is Satan. The result of all of Satan’s activities is that he not only deceives, but that he does so with wickedness for those he deceives, for their lack of love for the truth results in their utter destruction.

When we pick up next, we’ll be in the home stretch, see you then!

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Let’s Try This Again

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Don Merritt

OK, let’s have another run at our passage, 2Thessalonians 2:1-4. We’re in much better shape now that we have done some investigating; we’ll apply what we learned. To do this, I’ll switch from the NIV to the NASB for this entire passage so that we can keep those anomalies we found from causing confusion again. Here’s the text:

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

2Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NASB)

The first time we looked at this passage, we got through the first two verses pretty easily; the Thessalonians had somehow gotten the idea that the Lord had already returned. Paul set them straight on that, telling them not to listen to any such nonsense. In 3-4, he is amplifying this statement by reminding them that there is a way they could tell this for themselves.

Jesus isn’t coming (returning) until the apostasy has come and the man of lawlessness has been revealed. The NIV used the word “rebellion” instead of apostasy, and for me the word rebellion is the one I would normally use, since it is a more commonly understood word. “Apostasy” on the other hand is a word that always requires definition, since it is not commonly used outside of religious circles. It means a departure from God and the ways of righteousness. In this particular case, it is handy because it makes the nature of rebellion clearer: Humanity will turn away from God and His ways.

Before we get too giddy with end of the world excitement, please allow me to remind you that this rebellion or apostasy happened in Genesis 3. The relationship between God and Man since Genesis 3 has been like a roller coaster ride. At times, things seem to calm down, and many are faithful to Him, but most of the time, there is more rebelling and apostasy going on that not. The persecution of the Thessalonians is an example of people turning away from God and His ways by persecuting His church, and as long as this is going on, the Lord hasn’t returned.

What was happening at the time of this writing, therefore, could be what Paul is talking about, but to be fair it could also refer to something in the future; the grammar is neutral on the time factor. Yet Paul clearly indicates elsewhere that this apostasy has begun. Remember those false teachers in First and Second Timothy, Jude and 1 John for instance? There is also the concern Paul expresses about those Jews who have rejected Christ and opposed His church (1Thessalonians 2:14-16; Romans 9-11) which also would qualify as “apostasy”. Think about this carefully: If apostasy means falling away from God and His ways, who could possibly be more apostate than the Jews who refused to follow the gospel that their God had foretold of, promised, and then went to such extreme lengths to bring to fruition right in their very midst?

Since the Thessalonians were being persecuted because of local Jewish instigation, it would be altogether logical and contextual to conclude Paul had it in mind when he was writing this.

Now we come to the man of lawlessness; whoever this is, he will one day be revealed. The immediate reaction of most people would be to assume that this guy “will come” some day, but I would suggest that we read a little more carefully, asking ourselves what “revealed” means. It could mean that some latent force or personality, one that has been inactive and waiting for just the right moment bursts upon the scene, like a sleeper cell that suddenly comes out and blows something up. It could also mean a puppet-master who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes and is suddenly exposed for who he really is.

Isn’t this fun; don’t you love doing this?

Let’s keep in mind how this discussion began: Somebody was trying to deceive the Thessalonians into thinking that the Lord had already come, but that He hadn’t come for them; they might just as well forget all about their faith and give it up!

Thankfully, Paul cleared things up for them in the first 2 verses. Now he’s talking about this man of lawlessness who will be revealed or exposed before or at the time of Jesus’ return: What do you think he’s talking about?

 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. (2:4)

Now can you see why it was so important to get the tense right here? Whoever this dude is, he is already at work in the mid-first century, and is not a person who comes along later. The Thessalonians are suffering at his hand… but who is he? Come on Paul, name names!

Hold on, Paul did name a name… “the son of destruction” at the end of verse 3. Who is the son of destruction? It sounds kind of familiar, doesn’t it?

There is another place in the New Testament where the same Greek words are found that the NASB renders “son of destruction” and that is John 17:12 where they are rendered “son of perdition”. (apoieia).  Who was that, you ask? Why it was Judas Iscariot, the guy into whom Satan went when he betrayed the Lord.

But Paul isn’t talking about Judas Iscariot, is he? No, he’s talking about Satan!

Who invented apostasy (rebellion) in heaven? Satan did. Who instigated apostasy (rebellion) on earth? Satan did. Who opposed God all throughout the Old Testament? Satan did. Who opposed Jesus during His earthly ministry? Satan did. When the Pharisees were arguing with Jesus, who did He tell them their father was? Satan. Who was pulling the strings when Jesus went to the cross? Satan. Who was at work among the Jews who instigated the persecution of the church? Satan. Who will be exposed before the whole world for the fraud he has always been when Jesus returns? Satan.

Who was and is the man of lawlessness?  _ _ _ _ _

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There is a Problem Here!

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Don Merritt

Earlier, we took a look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, and ended up with a couple of ideas, and a bunch of questions. The next step is to have a closer look at the text itself. Since the ideas we came up with have led to more questions than answers, a closer look at the actual text is one way to see which way “the wind is blowing”. Any time I begin to wonder about the translation of the NIV (the example I’ve been using here) I first look at the NASB translation. The NASB (New American Standard Bible) is more difficult to read for many, because it is very literal, resulting sometimes in cumbersome English sentences. However, when you are looking at a passage that is hard to figure out, and you didn’t just want to jump onto another writer’s bandwagon, it is a great tool to get a sense of the text, to see if your translation might be what is making the text hard to understand, or harder than necessary to understand. I began by comparing our current text (2:1-4) and here is what I found:

NIV:

 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.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.

NASB:

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

Well now, isn’t that interesting- do you see what I see? No, not just that some words are slightly different, not that the NASB puts added words in italics and NIV does not; how about the tense in verse 4…

NIV:

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.

NASB:

who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

The NIV speaks in future tense while the NASB speaks in present tense, and if the NASB is correct, that changes everything. Here’s why: Remember last time when I asked what good it would do for Paul to insert a chapter with information that is for “us” in our time, in a letter written to encourage the Thessalonians in their time? This is the type of question that should set off alarm bells in your head, because it tells you there is a possibility that the text might be taken out of context, and we do not want to do that, for it often leads to difficulty in understanding, and even outright error.

Yet, to be fair, we aren’t finished quite yet, for the NASB, like any other translation, can be the one that is wrong; we need to check the Greek, so grab your interlinear.

  • The Greek words in question here are antikeimai (to oppose) and hyperairo (to lift one’s self up, be exalted, be haughty). Both are in the present tense; there is no word in the original for “will”. Thus, I conclude that the NASB has it more correctly translated than the NIV does. Of course, I tested that conclusion by doing the same comparison in the rest of the passage, and here are the results of that investigation:

2:9

NIV:

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,

NASB:

that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,

2:6-7:

NIV:

 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 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.

NASB:

And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Once again, I have checked the Greek to confirm the NASB rendering, and found it to be the more accurate of the two. In verse 9, we can again see the addition of future tense into the verse; that should be present tense to be faithful to the Greek. I also noticed an interesting variance in 6-7, in which the NIV adds the definite article “the one who” where the NASB (and Greek) have “he who”. Now this might not be a big deal; we haven’t gotten that far yet, but here’s why I mention it: If the NIV is right then there is only one person holding lawlessness back, and that is probably God. However, if the NIV is not right, then there may be more than one holding lawlessness back; just think about that! Without the definite article, which isn’t found in the Greek, God might be holding lawlessness back all by Himself, yet it could also turn out to be the faith of the Thessalonians (Body of Christ) that holds it (or him) back, and wouldn’t that put a whole different look to things? I guess that might make our investigation all the more interesting to complete…

Over the years, I’ve had a number of people ask questions like, “How do you figure these passages out?” That’s why I’ve taken you through all of this, to show you some ways you can look into these kinds of tough passages on your own; of course, if you are an old pro at this sort of thing, you might find it a little bit dull. In any case, I hope it’s been helpful to some. One last thing, I mentioned that we just grab our interlinear, and I realize that most people probably don’t have one, particularly since I write this blog for “regular people” rather than for “academics”. If you don’t have one, there are several available on the internet for free; there is one you can check out here if you like.

Next time, we’ll start finding answers to our questions; see you then!

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Photo of the Week: March 11, 2021

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Don Merritt
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The Day of the Lord

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Don Merritt

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting 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 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.

2Thessalonians 2:1-4

Right away, we have three things to wonder about: What happened in Thessalonica to give them the idea that Jesus had come back, and they had missed it? What rebellion? Who is this “man of lawlessness”?

The short answer to all three of these is that Paul doesn’t quite say.

It seems clear enough that someone has told these poor brothers and sisters that Jesus returned, and He had not done so. It would also appear that whoever this was, told them he got the word from Paul, and he had not gotten this from Paul. At this point, it might be helpful if you think about Jesus and what He told the people about listening to those who would later tell them that the Christ either had appeared, or was about to appear: He told His disciples never to listen to them! Now Paul is telling the Thessalonians the same thing.

Paul, however, goes further than that and tells them that something will happen first: a rebellion. The question we are left with is “what rebellion?” It probably wasn’t the rebellion of the 13 colonies in 1776 or the southern states in 1861; those are the first 2 to pop into my mind… Could it be the uprising of the Jews in 70 AD? Some have suggested that.

There are dozens of theories about this question, along with hundreds of books written. I suppose I could outline them for you, but that would probably require 30,000 words, and it would just confuse everyone… I wonder what Paul could be talking about.

Starting at the very beginning, we know that Satan was rebelling against God, and that he caused humanity to rebel against God in the Garden, and we know that Jesus came to redeem humanity by His blood on the cross. We know that the church was established at Pentecost, that it was thus the Kingdom of God from that point forward, and that it brought the good news everywhere it went, including Thessalonica, and we also know that the brothers and sisters in Thessalonica were living under persecution when Paul wrote this and that he was writing to encourage them to continue in their faith. Could it be possible that Paul is referring to this rebellion- their persecution?

Yes, it is possible, but not many like to teach it that way.

Let’s come back to that one. Who is the man of lawlessness? Why didn’t Paul just name names? OK, here’s what we know about him so far: He will be “revealed” thus, he won’t be a secret. He is doomed to destruction. He will oppose everything that is called God; that sounds kind of like a rebellion to me. He will also exalt himself over everything that is called God; isn’t that what Lucifer tried to do back in the day, that got him thrown out of heaven? Yes, I think that was it. He will also oppose and exalt himself over everything called worship. Then he will set himself up in God’s temple and call himself God.  That sounds a little like something Satan would do to me; is Paul referring to Satan?

Maybe, but not many teach it that way, either. The popular thing today is to say that he is “The Antichrist” from Revelation, but I’m dubious about that; it’s too easy just to say that, and besides, “The Antichrist” isn’t even mentioned in Revelation, at least not in so many words. (“antichrist” is found only in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7)

What about “God’s temple”; is Paul talking about the one in Jerusalem? Many think so, but then wouldn’t that be kind of strange, considering that the Thessalonians were living under the New Covenant; doesn’t Hebrews tell us that all that Old Covenant stuff is useless and obsolete? What would be the point of that? What would be the point of that? How would that encourage the Thessalonians to hang in there?

My head is spinning!

Let’s take a break, and when we get back together, maybe we can make sense of this. If you have some time, think about these verses, and our questions; try to avoid just looking up what somebody says. I’m going through this to see if we can figure it out before we worry about what others think. Then, after we do that, look it up in your favorite commentary.

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Wait and See!

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Don Merritt

If anything, the persecution of the church in Thessalonica has increased since the last letter; yes, this seems certain. Paul’s writings here, after the initial opening, seem to place even more urgency on the situation as he tries to keep the people focused on the thing that is most important of all: their faith.

He begins in verses 3-7 by letting them know that they are held in very high esteem by all of the brethren for their steadfastness in persecution, that they are a model to all other churches. Then, he brings in another element to the discussion, God’s good judgment. God, it would seem, was of the opinion that they were not being given any more than they were able to handle, and that this has been borne out by the fact that they have almost profited by their ordeal, as their faith and love appear to have actually increased through trials. The result of all this is that they will remain firm until the end, when they will receive ample reward. (4-5)

Next, Paul introduces a new idea: Those who have persecuted the church will be sorry for what they have done when the time comes. Verses 6-10 tell of the day when Jesus returns; He will return for judgment. Those who have refused to follow God, those who have caused the faithful to suffer, will be met with judgment and everlasting destruction. Those who have been faithful will have relief and remain in His presence forever. Thus, Paul is seeking to encourage them by letting them know that their plight is known to God, and that He will deliver all of those who are oppressed for His sake; their future is so bright as to make their present difficulties worth the effort.

With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by 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

2Thessalonians 1:11-12

It is important that we read these verses carefully, for they contain insight that is easy to pass right over. In particular, note these words: “and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.” Paul is praying for this, that God will provide their every desire for goodness, and every deed prompted by faith. He isn’t asking God to take away their trial, or grant their every wish, he’s asking for God to provide everything they need to give Him glory through their trial. Once again, to me at least, this doesn’t sound like a modern-day prayer, for Paul is giving God’s will the priority, not human will. Surely, those people would prefer for the trial to go away, wouldn’t you? Yet it would appear that there is a much larger battle going on in Thessalonica, a battle for the souls of men and women everywhere, for all time.

I’d like to share a theory with you, and naturally, you are free to discard it if you don’t find it useful to aid your understanding; fair enough?

Jesus Messiah came, and Satan opposed Him with everything at his disposal, and finally was able to have Him killed, and in so doing, Old Satan stepped right into a trap. I would imagine that round about the time of the resurrection, or at the latest at Pentecost, he recognized that Christ’s Kingdom, indwelt by the Holy Spirit spreading across the planet was his worst nightmare, and thus almost immediately, he launched an all-out frontal attack against it. He used everything he could muster to try and destroy the fledgling Kingdom, concentrating his strength in the power and might of the Romans. Those good brothers and sisters of ours in Thessalonica found themselves under attack on the front lines of this assault, as did others in various places over the next one or two hundred years.

God, thinking for the long term, did not directly intervene to take away the attack, remember that His most notable attribute is restraint, not the unlimited exercise of His awesome power. Instead, God provided those people the spiritual resources that would be necessary for them to not only survive this attack, but to actually grow and prosper spiritually while it continued, for the time had not yet come for Jesus to return. The more Satan tried to destroy the church, the more it grew, and eventually, Satan was forced to change his tactics. Even though the battle rages on, the result of God’s strategy is that literally billions more people became part of God’s Kingdom, including you and me.

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Weekly Bible Study Notes: March 10, 2021

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Don Merritt


Readers’ Note: The other day some of those who are currently attending our weekly Bible study asked that I post class notes for our study each week, and where better to post them than here on The Life Project. As of this week, we are beginning chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, and I’ll post the study notes each time from here on out…

The Bread of Life, Part 1

This chapter is divided into four sections which, when considered together paint us a twofold picture of the human condition and God’s response to it.  We see the human tendency to put spiritual concepts into physical categories, and we see God’s response to human need as spiritual reality.  We also can see the result of the clash between the two: most people will fall away from God.

Section One: John 6:1-15

This is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.  This great miracle of Jesus really gets the attention of the people because not only was it amazing to behold, but it also included a free meal.  To some in the crowd, Jesus leapt out as a man they should listen to, for He had performed a miracle; He must be in good with God!  To others, Jesus brought them hope that they could support their families for free; surely God was at work!

Section 2: John 6:16-24

This section includes another sign that the crowd did not get to see: Jesus walking on the water.  He left the place where He fed the crowd and the disciples followed Him by boat.  A storm blew up on the Sea and suddenly they saw Jesus walking on the water toward them.  When He got into the boat, they reached shore.  Not bad for a night’s work; two miracles in one. The next day, the crowd realized that Jesus was gone, and they went out to look for Him.  Eventually, they got into boats and sailed for Capernaum where He had gone, and we move into the central part of the chapter…

Section  3: John 6:25-59

In the third section, Jesus disappoints the crowd by telling them that He isn’t giving them another free lunch, but that the true bread of life is Jesus Himself.  Before getting into the particulars, we must understand that to these people, “bread” symbolizes life.  If a person has bread, he will not starve this day.  If he has the supplies and the ability to make bread tomorrow, he will not starve then either: where there is bread there is continuation of life. Bread remains the staple aspect of Western cuisine to this day, much in the same way that rice is in the Far East.

25-27:  Jesus confronts the notion of free meals right away, pointing the people instead toward the spiritual truth behind the feeding of the five thousand.  The people could only see the physical, practical aspect of receiving food from Jesus, while Jesus, on the other hand, was more concerned with the truth behind the miracle: life depends on a life-source that transcends mere biology for the true nature of life is spiritual not physical.

28-29:  OK, they seem to say, what must we do?  They are looking for a new rule or an activity by which they could obtain a loaf of bread that will be able to automatically replenish itself: they were making a serious category error.

29-31:  The answer Jesus gave was classic: The work for you to do is to believe in Jesus. Great, say the people: give us a sign.

It’s hard not to laugh at this…

Wasn’t feeding the five thousand enough of a sign? What will Jesus need to do to convince the people, rise from the dead or something?  I’d bet people wouldn’t even believe Him if He did that!

I know, why don’t you start the manna flowing again…

32-33:  Here Jesus tells them that if they want manna from God, it isn’t the kind that Moses had, but rather it will be true bread (as opposed to literal bread). This true bread is Jesus Himself.  Jesus gives life; it doesn’t come from the grocery store, for life is a much more profound force than the continuation of a biological process in the body. 

35-42:  Ok fine, give us some of this bread… Jesus tells them that He is the bread of life; all life forces come from Him.  If you take within you the bread that is Jesus, you will have eternal life, not just your little lifetime here on earth.  This starts not with just eating some whole wheat or rye, but rather when you decide to believe.  If you don’t decide to believe then you can go no further down the road of eternal life, but when you make this huge choice, eternal life is within your grasp, through Christ Himself.  Quite naturally, the people didn’t want that, for they were only looking for physical things, and they grumbled and complained as people like to do.

To be continued…

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Introduction to 2Thessalonians

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Don Merritt

Having completed First Thessalonians, we now come to Second Thessalonians, which is also quite an interesting little letter. While it only contains three chapters, it packs quite a punch for us today, and it is surrounded by controversy.

The first area of controversy is who actually wrote the letter? The traditional view is that it was written by Paul, and clearly the letter itself says so in 1:1. You might rightly ask why the controversy over authorship if the text itself says Paul wrote it, and to be honest with you, the answer is better suited to a Bonus Topic, and that is what I will write later in the week. For the purposes of these posts on 2Thessalonians, I will assume Paul is the author.

The second layer of controversy concerns when the letter was written. The traditional view is that it was written as a follow up to the first letter, and that is the assumption in these posts. However, a case can be made that this was actually the first letter, and the second is the follow up. The third layer of controversy swirls around the eschatology of the letter and the “Man of Lawlessness.” This controversy depends largely upon one’s point of view concerning millennial theories and their doctrines or lack of doctrines concerning “The Antichrist”. For the purposes of these observations, I will attempt to keep the texts in chapter 2 within the context of the letter, and let others speculate about whether or not there is another layer of significance.

Finally, there is also controversy concerning Paul’s teaching about unemployment, work and self-sufficiency in chapter 3. This controversy is much more recent than the others, and stems largely from modern day politics. It comes down to whether or not Paul is “mean spirited” when he expresses his thoughts on idleness, and whether or not the church should support members who do not choose to work for a living. I suppose that for many just phrasing it the way I have here would seem “mean spirited” but I simply put it the way Paul did, without volunteering my own thoughts on the subject. I will say, however, that in my personal view, interjecting modern politics into Scripture, whatever one’s opinions may be, is a dubious concept on its best day.

With all of that said, in my view, this letter was written by Paul as a follow up to his first letter for the purpose of encouragement in times of severe trial, and to correct some errors that had come to his attention after his first writing. We’ll begin in earnest in our tour through 2Thessalonians tomorrow morning a 6 am Eastern Time; see you then!

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