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Thessalonians and the Righteous Judgment of God
Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus,

unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians

WHY are the Thessalonians so special to Paul that the Apostle would write not one but TWO Epistles to their church from Athens?
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After all, hadn't Paul recorded that the Bereans were 'more noble than those in Thessalonica?' 

Actually, this much overstated passage from Acts of the Apostles 17 refers ONLY to the Jews.
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In addition to several Jews, including Jason who had been a leader of the local synagogue, the Church of the Thessalonians had many Macedonians (and perhaps Roman citizens as well.)

And some of them were persuaded, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.
Acts of the the Apostles 17:4 – Thessalonians during Second Missionary Journey ~ A.D. 50

ACTS 17:5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying,

These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; 7 whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. 8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea..
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Jason and other Jews have undoubtedly continued in Christ as members of the church in Thessalonica.
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And they [Berean believers] that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus [who had remained in Berea] for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Acts of the Apostles 17:15 AKJV

Paul’s unfinished encouragement of the Thessalonians

Paul writes to the Thessalonians from Athens

18 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth.. 5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

How was our first epistle received?

PAUL, TIMOTHY, SILAS (Silvanus), Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others [from Athens and other cities] COMMUNICATED with the Church in places where Paul and Silas had proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. Timothy, Jason and others became part of church leadership in cities throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia and Achaia.

APOSTLES SENT EPISTLES TO COMMUNICATE WITH AND SUSTAIN THE CHURCHES in a similar fashion as when in about A.D. 50 the Council of Jerusalem had sent clarifications of the faith into all the world of their ROMAN provinces.

The Apostles must have sent AND RECEIVED letters and brief messages much more frequently than these exemplary New Testament Epistles record.

Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians
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Once again PLEASE endure a most appropriate formality (17th c. King's English) of the KJV & Authorized KJV for this Apostolic Epistle. 
- RH
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~ A.D. 51 (a few months after Paul’s First Epistle)

.. we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
II Thessalonians 1:4b AKJV

Silas, Timothy, Jason and others had delivered first-hand or second-hand accounts of events in Thessalonica after Paul had escaped.

Paul knew that the Thessalonian believers were suffering. So the Apostle encourages the faithful:

5 which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
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Skipping ahead in Paul's Second Epistle:
II Thessalonians 3:6 
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Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. ..

11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

HOW did Paul, Silas and Timothy know about these serious challenges to the Thessalonians?

COMMUNICATION between church leaders and the Apostles.

IF you are SUFFERING on account of your witness of the Lord JESUS Christ GOD has chosen you and GOD will repay those who trouble you.

BUT IF some in your church DO NOT OBEY the commands and example of the Apostles they DO NOT and SHOULD NOT represent Christ as a member of your church.

When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed!

Paul preaches clearly about the Judgment to come.

II THESSALONIANS 1:7-12 AKJV – Paul’s Points concerning Judgment
- .. and to you who are troubled rest with us,
- when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
- taking vengeance on them
  - that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
- who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
  - and from the glory of his power;
- when he (The Lord Christ JESUS] shall come to be glorified in his saints (all believers),
- and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
- with his mighty angels,
- in flaming fire
Let no man deceive you
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Paul continues in encouraging these faithful Thessalonians currently enduring persecution to look forward to THE DAY Christ will return and draw the saints unto Him in victory over death.
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.. by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and by our gathering together unto him,

be not soon shaken

in mind,

or be troubled,

neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
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Don't believe such things.
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.. for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,

and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2b-4 AKJV

ἄνομος ánomos – Wicked

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 AKJV

We can hardly overlook Paul’s warning of Satan’s deception which will precede the returning of Christ for those He has saved.

Persecuted Thessalonians would obey the Apostle – having received the Holy spirit AND to whom Paul had already written in his first epistle:
- He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. – 1 Thessalonians 4:8
- Quench not the Spirit. – 1 Th 5:19
- And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Th 5:23
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ONCE MORE PAUL ENCOURAGES BELIEVERS IN THE TRUTH OF THE RETURN AND JUDGMENT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
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Pray that we might be delivered..
- .. pray for us
- ..that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men:
- for all men have not faith.
- But the Lord is faithful,
- .. and keep you from evil.
- And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.
- And .. into the patient waiting for Christ.
Walk away from evil men
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I have already addressed [above] Paul's concern from evil influencers who claim to be 'christians' AND Paul's COMMAND to stay away from such men.
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But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
11 Thessalonians 3:13-15 AKJV

And so, my dear brother or sister in the Lord, WHY NOT respond to Paul’s Epistle by your COMMENT?

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
February 29, 2024
Grace for the Everyday Sinner in 2024 C.E.
- Should grace be desired for more than simply acknowledgement of our blessings on occasion?
- Is the Biblical concept of ‘grace’ the same today as God’s GRACE in the New and Old Testaments?
What is grace?

We associate it with good things as in praying before eating and receiving mercy for those things we ought not to have done.

Paul frequently opens his letters to various churches with grace, peace and other gentle words of greeting. The Apostle then encourages believers in a spirit of grace given to all by God.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First Letter of Paul *[and Sosthenes]
to the church at Corinth 1:3 – LSB
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*Sosthenes = "saviour of his nation" - a Jew at Corinth who was seized and beaten in the presence of Gallio
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If God wills – a Mission ends, a Journey Home

Acts 18:17
And they all took hold of Sosthenes the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.

Gospel Grace
- Grace appears over 100 times in the Bible
- most frequently used in the New Testament.
The Greek word used by the Gospel writers and Apostles is χάρις pronounced: khar’-ece.

grace
- that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech
A brief look at varied New Testament use of grace, favor and graciousness reveals a much deeper and satisfying application of grace through Christ.

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace G5485 upon grace G5485.
Gospel of John 1:16 Legacy Standard Bible

Old Testament Grace

God’s grace before its fullness in Christ was proclaimed to the world

The Hebrew Bible or Old Testament also demonstrates God’s grace in action and in word. In Hebrew:

ḥēn חֵן

Translated in English as ‘grace‘ 38x and also as: favour (26x), gracious (2x), pleasant (1x), precious

But Noah found favor H2580 in the eyes of Yahweh.
Genesis 6:8

The favor and blessings of grace extend not only between the Lord God and man but also between the mortal flesh and blood of individual souls blessing one another.

Perhaps no blessing of grace is any better known than a benediction of parting the LORD spoke to Moses.

“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,

יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ׃ ס

יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ׃ ס

יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלֹום׃ ס

בְּמִדְבַּר (Numbers) 6 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)
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The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance [or face] upon you and give you peace.
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“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Blessing between the LORD and Israel from Numbers 6:24-26,27

Gracious people chosen for God’s grace

And of course most everyone desires at times to receive at least a portion of joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness, favour, grace, charm, elegance and acceptance.

Who receives grace?

Is God’s grace all-inclusive or exclusive?

Let’s take a brief look.

The Example of Noah

Then Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And Yahweh regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:5-6,8,13

Abraham’s Grace though Faith

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. Then he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Genesis 14:18-20a

Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him,

“I am God Almighty;
Walk before Me and be blameless, so that I may confirm My covenant between Me and you,
And that I may multiply you exceedingly.”
Genesis 17:1-2

Then Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him…

Grace and Mercy

25:17 וְעָשִׂיתָ כַפֹּרֶת זָהָב

“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold…

Grace is related to but NOT equal to mercy.

Mercy is a transaction granted by a greater one to a lesser recipient.

Grace is a part in a transaction by which supplication (or plea) may have been made from one to another. At times they are even equals — but often not.

In fact God or a king or any human authority may grant grace without you even asking.

תְּחִנָּה

supplication,

supplication for favour
- to man or
- to God
“And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication,

so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced;

and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10 LSB

“In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.
from Zechariah 13:1 – approximately 480 B.C.
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MORE about GRACE in every age NEXT TIME when we will ask:
"WHO NEEDS GRACE?" 

(You've probably guessed the answer already.)
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For from His fullness, we have all received and grace upon grace.
Gospel of John 1:16 – Berean Literal Bible

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
January 4, 2024
Ghosts of Christmas’ Past
We are of course familiar with the image of ghosts of Christmas’ past thanks to Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol,’ penned in A.D. 1843. Dickens points toward a morality of generosity during a great 19th century division between a well-off gentry class and the working poor. Even today his theme of the repentance of Scrooge convicts on a larger Common Era world stage where poverty is no less common.
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My ghosts of Christmas Past include more than just Jacob Marley & friends. I remember when Christmas meant more than the sounds of shopping and included both worship and bells.
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Many Christian families had opened paper doors on Advent calendars reading familiar Scripture from Luke, Matthew and Isaiah in anticipation of opening personal gifts to each other on Christmas morning.

So in these links and lyrics below I invite you to hear some of what I hear from long-lost ghosts of Christmas’ past. And if you listen to every brief song while reading the lyrics and Scripture behind such glorious Christmas carols you may discover that same moment of transformation as Scrooge after his visits by three ghosts he had never seen.

The Ghost of Church Bells

Church Bells proclaiming JOY to the world within the sound of their pealing.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Henry W. Longfellow, A.D. 1864 Scripture: Luke 2:13-14; Romans 5:1

Lyrics by Henry W. Longfellow, 1864 alt. and v. 5-7 by Harlan D. Sorrell

Lyrics:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play;
In music sweet the tones repeat,
“There’s peace on earth, good will to men.”

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th’ unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Born the Prince of Peace

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
For Christ is here; His Spirit near
Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”

When men repent and turn from sin
The Prince of Peace then enters in,
And grace imparts within their hearts
His peace on earth, good will to men.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
Gospel of Luke 2:14 KJV

Christians who grew up during the mid-twentieth century will closely associate Christmas, Christmas carols, community fellowship of families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day worship with church bells celebrating the birth of the Christ child.

Yet LISTEN?

The CHURCH BELLS have been rendered silent —

stilled from praise of the CHRIST child of CHRISTMAS —

in the SILENT nights and darkness of these last days…

A glorious joyful to the world RINGING of BELLS which once called both faithful and repentant Christians to WORSHIP has long ago rusted into an artificially staged sound of ME with the world AND Jesus.

A Silent Night..

and joyful singing..

now lost in the White noise of Christmas’ past ..

budding in every hand and ear..

of a multitude of the walking dead.

Could it have been your own wanderings with so many lost souls

for whom the bells once tolled..

church bells which today remain ominously SILENT?

Christmas Carols at our neighborhood doors
What was it we once SANG at the doors of our neighbors?

You with ears to hear, LISTEN and you with eyes to see, LOOK at the lyrics!
Joy to the World

Composer: George Frideric Handel – German-British Baroque composer (1685–1759)

Author: Isaac Watts (1719);

Adapter: Lowell Mason

Published A.D. 1839 in The Modern Psalmist, Boston

LOWELL MASON, THE BANKER WHO DISCOVERED ‘JOY TO THE WORLD’

He crusaded for better music, and heaven and nature sang
New England Historical Society

Psalm 98: King James Version
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O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

6 With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.
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Hark the Herald

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing – READ graphic of all the LYRICS

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled”

Christ by highest heaven adored..

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings..

Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Jesus, the Creator Born to give us a second birth

And in despair I bowed my head

When men repent and turn from sin
The Prince of Peace then enters in,

And grace imparts within their hearts
His peace on earth, good will to men.

Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings

“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
Gospel of Luke 2:10b-12 ESV

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

Will you invite JESUS to be more than a ghost of your Christmas’ Past?

For Christ was born that you might be born again to the eternal life given only through Him because the Lord has died for our sins.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.
December 23, 2023