220423 The Spirit of Paul's letter
Paul's letter to Thessaloniki • Sermon • Submitted
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Does the end time events leading to the day of the Lord matter? If we are sitting in the Mezzanine watching from above, then why is it that Paul seems to be preparing the church for the worst?
Many reputable Scholars all agree that the Rapture of the church will occur. But it is when that is the debate.
Pre Trib, mid trib and post trib. Somebodies wrong. They cannot be all right unless there might be more than one rapture for different groups. I do not believe the word of God supports that.
The spirit of Paul’s letter is not that the church will escape the events leading to the Great and terrible day in the Lord, it is that we should not lose heart in it and encourage others.
Hymn
Prayer
1 Thessalonians 5:1 (NASB95) — 1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
The day of the Lord is nothing new to the saints who kept the Lord’s word.
Joel 2:30–32 (NASB95) — 30 “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. 31 “The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.
From the point when the first Adam chose to sin against God and lost his standing as God’s theocratic ruler, this world has been under the rule of Satan.
John 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 6:12; 1 John 4:4; 5:19
Now that was almost 6 thousand years ago that is almost 6 thousand years. Might it be to the day that the Lord will return to begin a millennial Sabbath. When he returns, he will once again bring order out of Chaos bring light out of darkness.
2 Peter 3:8 (NASB95) — 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
The prophet, our Lord Jesus Christ, knows exactly what will come to pass in the event of His coming. He compares them to both the Days of Noah and the days of Sodom.
And perhaps we should be comparing these things the way things are today.
Matthew 24:36–41 (NASB95) — 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 coming 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 coming of the Son of Man be. 40 “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Just like in the days of Lot
Luke 17:28–37 (NASB95) — 28 “It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 “It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 “On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back. 32 “Remember Lot’s wife. 33 “Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 “I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 “There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left. 36 “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.” 37 And answering they said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
Each life was going on comfortably in their dark and ignorant hearts.
IN the Case of Noah, a locked in negative volition. A corrupt and unchangeable direction.
Genesis 6:5 (NASB95) — 5 Then the Lordsaw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
What does the New Testament say
2 Timothy 3:1–7 (NASB95) — 1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Ah, but you Jesus said that no man knows the day or the hour. Is the day that the Lord speaking of Day in terms of a span of time or specific day within a season. The season could be here. Like the spring and I am looking forward to an event in the spring but I do not know what day it is going to be, so I have to be ready knowing that it is the spring.
I would say that we are living in a time when wickedness is in full swing celebration. Dancing and partying and mocking God.
In the case of Sodom comfortable in their dark ignorant sexual perverted hearts. Not just the old but the young as well.
The two visitors (angels) after departing company with Abraham entered into Sodom where they come to Lot’s house. Lot talked them out of spending the night in the park. And so, the angels remained for the night in Lot’s house.
Genesis 19:4–5 (NASB95) — 4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.”
Note: Both young and old. And all people of every quarter.
The perverted homosexual lifestyle was accepted in the society and even among their children.
Those that accepted in our culture are no friend of God or His bible.
And when as a whole the society accepts and the world accepts it as a norm then that culture as a whole have rejected God and His word.
Romans 1:25–32 (NASB95) — 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Yes, we might be seeing historical trends. Have we not seen such before in history? What makes now any different?
now have a breakdown of National identity. By design the Lord established the laws of divine establishment to isolate man’s sin to that which lies in the boarders. Once those boarders are broken down then the sin that used to be isolated, now corrupts the entire globe. It is not like Sodom that was isolated to a geographical place on earth but now it is the entire earth that is ripe for judgement.
But none of this happens until after the rapture. Right?
Isn’t it this just stuff that we will be observing from the Mezzanine?
I’m not so sure if that is the spirit of the letter here.
These people did not have the dispensational doctrine and the outline of history that they understood came from the letter of Paul.
They understood that there would be a rapture.
As we understand that there will be a rapture.
The debate is when.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NASB95) — 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.
What are they saying in our day?
“Peace.”
Jeremiah 6:14 (NASB95) — 14 “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.
Jeremiah 8:11–12 (NASB95) — 11 “They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace. 12 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They certainly were not ashamed, And they did not know how to blush; Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,” Says the Lord.
Ezekiel 13:10 (NASB95) — 10 “It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;
Do not be misled by the peace movement. There are two categories of peace
1. Worldview Peace
2. God’s peace
God’s view is harmony between the creator and his creation.
Worldview is the peace of John Lennon, beauty contestants and even churches the preaches peace on man’s terms and without a messiah.
Worldview is a Godless socialistic society.
Gods view is God loving man and man loving God.
Worldview is superficial surface whitewash
God view is genuine and is perfect righteous just as God had designed it
2 Peter 3:13–14 (NASB95) — 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
And people are also looking for security.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NASB95) — 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!”
803 ἀσφάλεια [asphaleia /as·fal·i·ah/] n f. From 804; TDNT 1:506; TDNTA 87; GK 854; Three occurrences; AV translates as “safety” twice, and “certainty” once. 1 firmness, stability. 2 certainty, undoubted truth. 3 security from enemies and dangers, safety.
Another sign is the fact that in that time people will gladly surrender their Freedoms for security and demand others to do the same for the sake of security.
This was what for so long the world was seeking to do with global warning, but it was covid that gave the world all they could wanted. People by the millions surrendered their freedoms for security promised by the government.
And it is done as the governments of this world to include ours are formulating the next big event that will cause the population to turn to the government to solve and to provide security through the crisis. That problem is the fact that once you surrendered your freedom to the Government, the government will not give it back.
It happened in the time of the famine in the Land in the time of Joseph. The people eventually surrendered their freedom, property and lives over to the government and never got it back.
How long will it be, or has it already happened that the United States body will give itself over to a world government?
Ah, but that is after the Church is raptured out. We will be watching this played out in the Mezzanine. Right?
Paul is telling them that there will be a resurrection. But Paul is not telling them when.
Now these events are not the Day of the Lord. It is the Apostasy. It is the full out rebellion of the world against its creator.
And as it escalates, might we think at some point we have missed the Rapture and lose all hope completely. Paul deals with it in 2 Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–3 (NASB95) — 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,
The Rapture happens prior to the day of the Lord . but what guarantees do we have that we will not see these events that are leading up to rapture?
1 Thessalonians 5:3 (NASB95) — 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.
Prior to the coming of the Lord whether it be pre mid or post the lord will send for His elect
Mark 13:24–27 (NASB95) — 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
The spirit of Paul’s letter has not let us not worry about these events, the rapture is going to happen and we all are going to be ok.
On the contrary.
The spirit of Paul’s letter seems to be it is going to be pretty bad prior to the coming of the Lord.
And as the world is falling apart and that just because we have two feet on the ground means that truth has failed, that God’s word is not true.
And as you experience much of it, don’t loose heart but encourage others through it. to stand fast.
What doctrine do we cling to when there is contradiction and debate between scholars on the matter?
Shall we wait and see who wins the debate?
At this point I must stand with the believers in Thessaloniki hearing the letter for the first time.
That things are going to get worse before they get better.
That there will come the day when the Lord comes for His elect.
I don’t know when that day will come but the great and terrible day of the Lord will not take place until he removes his Church.
Until then I am not to lose hope and I am to encourage others to hold the line of faith.
As far as this Pastor is concerned, unless he can be convinced of a pretrib mid trib or post trib rapture then He will humbly declare ignorance and pray for wisdom.