"we ask you, [Personal note: the verse separation was placed right here. Not sure what was going through the head of whoever was in charge of that decision] not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come."
- Paul moves into "Okay, chill out, the end of the world hasn't started yet," and the NLT actually translates that statement to "as though the day of the Lord has already started."
"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
- Now, saying "that Day will not come until..." could be referencing "that day" as the very end of Revelation when all is set right and whatnot, but this verse is where I take issue with a common teaching among pre-tribbers that Jesus could come back in the next 20 minutes. Paul says clearly that the "Day of the Lord" won't happen until the Anti-Christ (Or son of perdition, or whatever) has set himself on a throne and said "Hi, I'm God." I still mostly consider myself Pre-Trib in belief, but this verse throws off some common teaching. I dunno.
"Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?"
- I love Paul...I can just see him trying to say this really calmly trying to communicate "okay...we've been over this..." without shouting. Maybe he did shout, and the scribe cleaned it up. Either way, the tone of this letter makes me laugh.
"And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time."
- I love this verse. The point is basically that God is holding back partly because people are up on a hill looking for Him - God doesn't operate on schedules that we dictate to Him. He works on His own timing, and any attempts to mess with that will be utter failures.
"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. And then the lawless one will be revealed"
- Everything is in motion for the end - the mystery of lawlessness, the spirit of Antichrist, is already here and working. God is holding it all back, and nothing will happen until God takes away His restrictions, then everything will come to a head and the ball will get rolling.
"whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."
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"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. "
- *Ahem* But seriously, folks...
- Common teaching. The antichrist, and, I think it's safe to assume, those under the growing spirit of antichrist, will actually show miracles. I like the phrasing of "lying wonders." Always a good reminder - not everything supernatural is from God. The antichrist in the last days will do miracles through Satanic power.
" And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
- A very interesting statement. Since people did refused to accept the truth, God will eventually give everyone over to the same deception. It's an interesting thought that, when people choose lies, God can empower different people spouting the lies so they'll even believe the lies that God thinks will best suit his purposes. This is more complicated than I care to go into right now, but it's very interesting.
After more fun talk of destruction and unpleasantry for people who aren't saved, Paul once again reminds them they are thankful they are saved, and then makes another fun pre-destination state for Bible college students to argue about, saying that "God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth," and I really don't feel like diving into it. I have plenty of thoughts about it, but I will say that the NLT's interpretation of that passage is a bit watered down, but relatively close to what I think on the matter.
Either way, Paul urges to continue in the traditions which they were taught, which has a double meaning - to continue living morally and all of that stuff, but was also an admonition to open their shops back up and continue life.
Whatever you believe about the end times, whether pre, post, mid, a, or that it was all about Rome and Nero and we're missing the point, don't let it stop you from doing the things God has commanded you to do. Everyone has a purpose, and if you're abandoning it because you think Jesus is coming back tomorrow anyway, then you're misinterpreting how you should react. Paul urged everyone in 1 Thessalonians to work with their hands and stay busy, and it stays true - do something.
" And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
- A very interesting statement. Since people did refused to accept the truth, God will eventually give everyone over to the same deception. It's an interesting thought that, when people choose lies, God can empower different people spouting the lies so they'll even believe the lies that God thinks will best suit his purposes. This is more complicated than I care to go into right now, but it's very interesting.
After more fun talk of destruction and unpleasantry for people who aren't saved, Paul once again reminds them they are thankful they are saved, and then makes another fun pre-destination state for Bible college students to argue about, saying that "God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth," and I really don't feel like diving into it. I have plenty of thoughts about it, but I will say that the NLT's interpretation of that passage is a bit watered down, but relatively close to what I think on the matter.
Either way, Paul urges to continue in the traditions which they were taught, which has a double meaning - to continue living morally and all of that stuff, but was also an admonition to open their shops back up and continue life.
Whatever you believe about the end times, whether pre, post, mid, a, or that it was all about Rome and Nero and we're missing the point, don't let it stop you from doing the things God has commanded you to do. Everyone has a purpose, and if you're abandoning it because you think Jesus is coming back tomorrow anyway, then you're misinterpreting how you should react. Paul urged everyone in 1 Thessalonians to work with their hands and stay busy, and it stays true - do something.
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