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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
May 16, 2021
Corrections on the Day of the Lord, Part 1
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
Introduction
When I was in 4th or 5th grade, I remember going to church one Spring and being quite perplexed about why there were so few people there. We attended a large church that had over 3,000 in just the Sunday School classes, so only seeing perhaps a few dozen people was troubling. Where were all the people that would normally be at church at that time? I knew enough doctrine by then to know that Christians would be raptured when Jesus returned, so my mind started to contemplate the idea that perhaps I had been left behind. I had made a profession of faith when I was 6 years old, so maybe I misunderstood something about the gospel and now I was going to have to face the Tribulation. I was glad that my parents fairly quickly figured out what was wrong and that set my heart at ease. It was the start of Daylight Savings Time, and we were there an hour early.
If my heart could have been troubled by such a misunderstanding leading to the thought that I had missed the rapture and was going be going through the Tribulation described in Revelation, imagine how much more disturbing it would be if there were those around you actually teaching that was true. Such was the case for the Thessalonians and it was a major reason that Paul wrote his second letter to them. He needed to straighten out their confusion which was resulting in some being shaken and disturbed and others to becoming undisciplined so that they were no longer working.
I will begin this morning by reading through 2 Thessalonians 2, and then going back over it to explain it in detail.
2 Thessalonians 2 – 1 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. 5 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 coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
It will take at least a couple of weeks to work through this text because 1) there are some very important issues in it and I want to address those fully, and 2) this is a text which is often interpreted according to theological positions instead of what is actually in the text. It will take some time to explain the reasons for those differences in theology and why it affects the interpretation. I will be presenting some word studies which I trust will prove to be helpful to you even though they will be somewhat academic in nature.
The Concern – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Paul begins by expressing his concern for what is happening among the believers in Thessalonica. He had already expressed his concern for them in his first letter and his desire to see them again and continue the ministry he had started with them in order to further mature them in their faith. You will recall from our previous study of that letter that Paul had only been able to minister in Thessalonica a relatively short period of time after founding the church there before persecution began that was severe enough that the brethren sent him to Berea and then to Athens for his safety. Paul was already concerned for how well they might be doing under such affliction since they were still so young in the faith. As 1 Thessalonians indicated, he was encouraged when Timothy had returned with his initial report and that they were doing so well that Paul commended them for being a model church for others in their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 1:3, 6-10). However, after delivery of the first letter, Paul is given a new report about what was happening there which prompted the writing of this second letter.
The issue at hand was that someone or multiple people were contradicting what Paul had already taught them about the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the rapture. (I will expand on that in a minute). Notice in verse 5 that he pointedly reminded them that he had taught them these things before. It is disturbing enough for any teacher to find out that his students are now being taught by someone else who is contradicting you, but this is worse because some of these false teachers are making out like what they are teaching is coming from Paul or his missionary companions, Silas or Timothy.
Notice the three ways in which the false teachers would gain a hearing for what they claim. First was by or through a “spirit.” Since Paul gives a specific warning in 2 Cor. 11:13 about “false apostles,” this could have been a claim to have had the same authority as the apostle Paul. Even today there are those what will make a blatant claim that God had directly revealed something to them. It could also been a less direct claim or even a subtle inference to be teaching something that came from the Spirit. It is common today to find people who will say they had prayed about it and this was how the Spirit had moved them. While I do not discount the Spirit of God guiding you, that guidance will always be in complete harmony with what God has already said in the Scriptures. Any teaching that does not agree with what is already in the Scriptures is false and the teacher doing it could be in danger of being accursed if it is blasphemy or contrary to the gospel (Gal. 1:8). That is why there are so many warnings about false teaching and false teachers throughout the Scriptures. 1 John 4:1 is especially relevant here – “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
The other two ways that false teachers could have gained a hearing from the Thessalonians was by claiming either an oral or written message had come from Paul, Silas or Timothy. This is known as an appeal to authority, except in this case it was a false claim. That could be either a direct lie from the originators of the deception or a lie that was repeated by those that believed the false claims. The more often the lie would be repeated, the more believable it would become. That strategy is still very effective in getting people to accept what is false in all areas of life. I would have been very angry to find out that others were teaching false doctrine and attributing it to me, and even more so when what was being taught was contrary to what I had already taught. Paul gives a good example of how to properly respond to such aggravating news. Paul is both gentle and very effectively persuasive with them because he fully recognizes that the issue here is truth and not the personal affront.
Notice that Paul begins this section, “Now we request you, brethren.” Here once again he refers to these Gentile believers as his brothers. He identifies them as part of the same family with him, the family of God. He referred to them as “brethren” 18 times in his first letter and seven times in this second letter. It was probably quite hard for Paul who had been a “Hebrew of the Hebrews; and as to the Law, a Pharisee” (Phil. 3:5) to call a Gentile his “brother” the first time. Yet, that is the radical change that faith in Christ brings to people. The prejudicial dividing walls are broken down so that people who had even been enemies of each other by lineage, ethnic, cultural or national identity become brothers and sisters in one family. The family of God is to become more important to us than blood ties.
The word “request” (ejrwtavw / erōtaō) can be used in two senses. The first is to ask, to inquire, to ask a question in seeking more information. The second is to ask in the sense of a humble entreaty to do something which is its most common usage outside of the gospels . If Paul was asking a question, it would be how they could have come to the conclusion that the day of the Lord was already come and present, but Paul answers that question himself in pointing out the ways in which they could have received false teaching. Paul is going to correct them, but he does not make a demand of them or give a direct rebuke. Instead he does so with gentleness by making request that they would not be shaken in mind or disturbed by the false teaching they had received. It shows care and compassion for the state they were in because of the false teaching and his correction of them would resolve their confusion and remove their agitation.
Paul could have been angry about the false teaching, the false teacher and the reason they fell for the lies, but the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God (James 1:20). By being gentle Paul demonstrated his care and concern for the Thessalonians and opened wide the door for the corrections he would need to make. It was also a good model of godliness for them and for any of us to follow when someone has fallen victim to false teaching.
If you are a teacher and you take the confusion of your students to be a personal insult, then you only show your own pride and insecurity. You are not God, so your students do not need to hang onto your every word and never question what you teach. The goal of a Christian teacher is to point people to God so that they can develop their convictions on what He has revealed in His word. In addition, your students are students because they are still learning, and true learning is usually a process that meanders back and forth between various points of knowledge before it arrives at understanding and wisdom. A wise teacher will take advantage of the opportunities that confusion brings to make the needed corrections regardless of the reasons for the confusion. By humility and gentleness Paul was able to strengthen his relationship with the Thessalonians so that even with the rebukes he would make later in the letter, they would understand it as truth being spoken in love, and love for one another is to be the hallmark of the relationships between fellow believers (John 13:25; 1 Corinthians 13).
As I already briefly pointed out in my introduction, the thought that they were already in the day of the Lord resulted in them being quickly shaken in mind and troubled. Quickly is not immediate, but it is within a very short period of time. The only reason this would not have been immediate is that the thought of having to go through the seven year period of Tribulation is something that becomes more disturbing the longer you think about the ramifications of that, which in this case would include that they have somehow missed the rapture. They already knew from 1 Thessalonians 5:9 that they were not destined for wrath, but that became a possibility if they missed the rapture. And if they had misunderstood the timing of the rapture, they would at least have to deal with the consequences of God’s wrath upon the world. That is plenty to cause them to be “shaken in mind and disturbed.”
The word shaken (saluevw / salueō) was used to describe the physical motion of a tossing sea and up and down movements of earthquakes which allowed it to be a very descriptive word for an emotional or mental state as used in this verse. Their minds were agitated, vacillating, upset. Shaken here is an aorist, passive infinitive indicating that this false teaching shook them at a point in time. It is coupled with disturbed (qroevw / throeō) which is here a present active infinitive indicating that it then continued to keep them in state of fear and troubled mind. This state is the opposite of the peace and calm that is a characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and trusting in God (Isaiah 26:3). It is not surprising that a teaching that has its origin in lies and therefore would be of the devil, the father of lies (John 8:44), would have that effect on people.
The Issue – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
The specific issue causing the turmoil was this false teaching about the day of the Lord. Before I go on, let me quickly note that those of you using a KJV or NKJV, verse 2 refers to this as the “day of Christ” because some Byzantine manuscripts used to produce the Greek text underlying the KJV & NKJV translations have Christ (cristou🙂 instead of lord (kurivou). That does not make any difference in meaning since Jesus is Lord and the specific time period being referred to is the same.
The specific meaning of what is being referred to as the day of the Lord is set by the context of the particular passage. I have pointed out in previous sermons that the “day of the Lord” is used throughout the Scriptures to refer to several different events. It can be used in a broad sense covering many years or a narrow sense of one particular day. It can include both blessings and curses. The specific usage of the phrase is determined by its context. In this passage, it is clear that Paul is using this phrase to refer to the return of Jesus Christ for His church and all the events that follow that.
First, note that in the immediately preceding passage, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, Paul was encouraging the Thessalonian believers concerning their suffering due to persecution and affliction by pointing out that when the Lord Jesus would be revealed from heaven, they would be given relief and those who had been afflicting them would be afflicted as retribution would be dealt to those that did not know God (unbelieving Gentiles) and those that did not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (unbelieving Jews) culminating in the “penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” (See: Relief & Retribution)
In this passage Paul ties this directly to “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him” in verse 1, and then to the events that occur during what is commonly called the Tribulation period in verses 3-12. This is the 70th week of the prophecy in Daniel 9 that begins with a firm covenant made between the anti-Christ and the Jewish nation. More on that in a few minutes.
It is again important to note that in verse 5 Paul states that he had already taught the Thessalonians about the day of the Lord. And while we do not have a record of the oral teachings that Paul made to them, which appear to have been at least somewhat extensive, we do have the record of what he wrote to them in his first letter. It was an important topic for both Paul and them because of the hope it secured that transcended the persecution they were suffering. Remember, Paul states something about the return of the Lord Jesus in all five chapters of 1 Thessalonians.
The day of the Lord here in 2 Thessalonians is the same as the day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3, 1 “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” Their concern was well founded for if they were in the day of the Lord since it includes such sudden destruction. Even believing they would be spared as stated in 1 Thess. 5:9 that God had not destined them for wrath and 1 Thess. 1:10 that Jesus would rescue them from the wrath to come, it would be a difficult time to live through. If Paul had taught them about Daniel’s prophecy, and it is reasonable that he would have, then they would have also known that they would also soon see the abomination that makes desolate and the complete destruction that would be associated with that. They would not have known about the revelation given to the apostle John on the isle of Patmos that is recorded in the book of Revelation which came about 40 years after this, but if they had, they would have been even more disturbed.
But Paul was writing to remove the cause of their being shaken in mind and disturbed. Starting in verse 3 he will prove that they are not in the day of the Lord because certain events had not yet occurred. However before we can look at that in detail, which will be next week, I need to stress the point that Paul directly ties the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him” with the day of the Lord. And again, this “coming of the Lord” is the same as Paul described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.
The Coming of the Lord
I believe it was a mistake that translators used the English word “come,” “comes,” or “coming” for over a dozen different Greek words because that removes the nuances of meaning and causes some confusion, especially in eschatology. In just 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 there are three different words translated as come or coming. I am not going to examine all these various words in this sermon, but we are going to look a few that are very important in eschatology. It will be easy to see the overlap of meaning of these words, but it is also helpful to translate them differently and especially in passages in which more than one of them are used.
The most common word translated as come or coming in the New Testament is e[rcomai / erchomai and its cognates. Its basic meaning is to move toward a point of reference from the viewpoint of a character or event. It could be a physical coming such as a person or object coming to you, or a spiritual coming such as the Holy Spirit coming upon someone (John 16:7-13). This word, e[rcomai / erchomai, is used in relationship to the day of the Lord and events related to it in several verses including these:
Matthew 25:31, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”
John 14:3, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
John 21:22, Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2, “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.”
2 Thessalonians 1:10, “when He (the Lord) comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you was believed.”
2 Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for [the day of the Lord is not arrived] unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, “I am coming quickly.”
These usages and others show that e[rcomai / erchomai when used in connection with eschatology can be used as a general reference to the Lord’s coming in the day of the Lord or also as a specific reference to His physical return to earth at which time He sets up His kingdom.
The second word is ejfivsthmi / ephistāmi which is used in 1 Thess. 5:3 in connection with the day of the Lord and the future destruction of sinners, “While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.” It is translated as “come upon” in this verse but its root meaning is to “set or stand upon” and here refers to what will happen. It would be better to translate this as sudden destruction will set upon, happen to or overtake them in order distinguish it is a different word with a slightly different implication.
The third word is ejnivsthmi / enistāmi and is used in 2 Thess. 2:2 – “to the effect the day of the Lord is come.” It has the same root as the previous word joined with the preposition ejn / en and means to “stand in.” It is used in temporal sense to refer to what is currently present. It is better translated here as in the Lexham version, “has arrived,” or Darby, “is present,” in order to distinguish the word with its emphasis.
The fourth word, parousiva / parousia, is more significant and is used 17 times in passages directly related to the future return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though it is usually translated simply as “coming,” its general meaning is “presence of one coming” or “appearing.” That is close enough in meaning to some of the other words such as e[rcomai / erchomai to be used as a synonym at times, but the differences are distinguished when used in the same passages.
For example, the Olivet Discourse begins in Matthew 24 with the disciples asking Jesus, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming (parousiva / parousia), and of the end of the age?” The “these things” is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy of the destruction of the temple, and since Jesus is physically with them, the sign of His coming (parousiva / parousia) and of the end of the age is a reference to His appearing as Messiah which would end the age of the Gentiles and begin the Kingdom. To get a sense of the difference between the words, I will read through Matthew 24:27-39 translating parousiva / parousia as “appearing” and e[rcomai / erchomai as “coming.”
Matthew 24:27–39, 27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the [appearing] of the Son of Man be. 28 “Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. 29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will [be visible / shine] in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. 34 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 “For the [appearing] of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 38 “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the [appearing] of the Son of Man be.
Several of Paul’s usages of parousiva / parousia are specifically related to the rapture. The most obvious is 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. 15 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1 ties directly to the rapture since Paul’s request is “with regard to the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him.” That gathering occurs at the rapture – the being caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Paul’s discussion of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 is also directly related to this. Verse 23 points out that Christ is the first fruits, and after that those who are Christ’s at His coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia]. Verses 51-54 specifically describes this as when the dead are raised and we are changed to become imperishable and immortal.
Pointing out Paul’s usage in these passages then indicates what event he is referring to in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 “in the presence of His coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia], in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 in having “hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of our Lord Jesus with all His saints, and 1 Thessalonians 5:23 when God sanctifies believers completely at the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of our Lord Jesus.
These also give us help in understanding James 5:7 & 8, 7″Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming [appearing – parousiva / parousia] of the Lord is near.” That matches what Paul states in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 that believers who are suffering will be given relief when the Lord Jesus will be revealed [ajpokavluyiV / apokalupsis] from heaven. And while Peter uses the word more broadly (2 Peter 1:16; 3:4; 3:13), the apostle John uses it in this sense in 1 John 2:28, “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He [is made manifest / becomes visible – fanerovw / phaneroō] we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His [appearing – parousiva / parousia].”
As I pointed out when we studied 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 a few months ago, Christians, those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, will be transformed and caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. We refer to that as the rapture. That will occur at Jesus’ parousiva / parousia, His appearing when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” Here in 2 Thessalonians Paul will use what he has previously taught them to assure them that they have not missed the rapture. They are not in the “day of the Lord.” We will be looking at Paul’s proof of that next week since we have run out of time today.
I want to close by simply reminding you that the promise of Jesus’ return is a comfort to us as it was to the Thessalonians. Regardless of present circumstances or what may come in the future which may well include suffering from persecution and affliction as did the Thessalonians, we have hope in Jesus’ promises. He is coming back, and we gain relief when He first appears because we will at that moment be transformed from these perishable, mortal bodies and transformed to be imperishable, immortal, and blameless before Him. Until then, as Paul states in Philippians 1:6, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Sermon Notes – May 16, 2021
Corrections on the Day of the Lord, Part 1 – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Introduction
Troubled at missing the _____________
Important issues & a difficult text
The Concern – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Paul’s concern for the Thessalonians in his _________ letter
Paul’s concern they were being taught contradictory _______________
False teaching via a “_________” (2 Cor. 11:13; Gal. 1:8; 1 John 4:1)
False teaching via false claims of authority
Gentile brethren
Paul’s gentle _____________ (ejrwtavw / erōtaō)
The superiority of gentleness over anger
Christian teachers are to point people to God so that convictions are based on what ______has said, not man
Quickly shaken in mind & disturbed about _______________ the Day of the Lord
Shaken (saluevw / salueō)
Disturbed (qroevw / throeō)
The Issue – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
Day of Christ / Lord
Context & the “day of the Lord”
2 Thess. 1:6-10: ___________ at Jesus’ revelation
2 Thess. 2:1 – A direct reference to the Rapture; 2 Thess. 2:3-12 – Events in the Tribulation (Dan. 9:27)
2 Thess. 2:5 – Paul had taught them these things – Jesus’ return referenced in all 5 chapters of 1 Thess.
Day of Lord in 2 Thess. 2:2 = Day of Lord in 1 Thess. 5:1-3
Starting in verse 3, Paul will prove they are not in the Day of the Lord
The Coming of the Lord
Translators use the words “come,” “comes,” or “coming” for over a __________ different Greek words
e[rcomai / erchomai: “to move toward a point of reference from the viewpoint of character or event”
Eschatological: Matt. 25:31; John 14:3; 21:22; 1 Cor. 11:26; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:3; Rev. 22:7,12
Used as both general reference to the Lord’s coming and specific to His ____________return to earth
ejfivsthmi / ephistāmi: root meaning = “set or stand upon.” 1 Thess. 5:3 = set upon / happen to / overtake /
ejnivsthmi / enistāmi: root meaning = “stand in.” 2 Thess. 2:2 = has arrived / is present
parousiva / parousia: “presence of one coming” / “appearing.” Used 17 times in ref. to Jesus’ future ______
Olivet Discourse: Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39.
Specifically tied to the rapture in 1 Thess. 4:15; 2 Thess. 2:1; 1 Cor. 15:23
Also used in 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 5:23
Usage in James 5:7-8 matches 2 Thess. 1:7
Christians will be transformed & ____________to be with the Lord at His parousiva / parousia (appearing)
The promise of the rapture was and is a _____________in difficult circumstances
Jesus is coming back and the Lord will _____________the good work He began in you (Phil 1:6)
KIDS KORNER – Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – count how many times Jesus’ return is mentioned. Talk with your parents about the importance of Jesus’ promise to return for His people.
THINK ABOUT IT – Questions to consider in understanding the sermon and its application. How would you feel if you missed the rapture and were in the Day of the Lord? How were false teachers able to get the Thessalonians to believe their lies? How do false teachers do the same today? What is the importance of Paul making a “request” to them instead of making demands? How is that a good model for teachers today? Why were they “quickly” shaken instead of immediately shaken? What is the meaning of the words “shaken” and “disturbed” in 1 Thess. 2:2? What is the immediate context of 2 Thess. 2:1-2 (before & after)? What did Paul teach concerning “these things” in 1 Thessalonians? What is the relationship between 2 Thess. 2:1-2 and Daniel 9:27? What is the result of English translators using “come,” “comes,” or “coming” for so many different Greek words. Explain both the root meaning and the meaning in eschatological passages of each of the following words: e[rcomai / erchomai; ejfivsthmi / ejfivsthmi / ejnivsthmi / enistāmi; parousiva / parousia. What is the importance of distinguishing parousiva / parousia from e[rcomai / erchomai in Matthew 24; 1 & 2 Thessalonians, & James 5:7-8? How does the promise of the rapture at Jesus’ appearing (parousiva / parousia) bring comfort to the believer?
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