122-10 - THE BOOKS OF THESSALONIANS
Thessalonica, the largest city in Northern Greece, was made the capital of Macedonia when it was made a Roman province in 146 BC. It was made a free city by the Romans, which means it enjoyed a status free from taxation or military occupation and the privilege of self-government. The city was named by its founder, the Macedonian King Cassander in honor of his wife who was the half-sister of Alexander the Great. It was located on the Via Egnatia (the major Roman road through Macedonia) and on the coast and was the major sea port for the area. It remains a large and prosperous city (now called Salonica or Thessaloniki) to this day.
I. The Acts account of Paul’s dealings with the people in Thessalonica.
A. Acts 16:9-10 - Paul, traveling with Luke, Timothy and Silas are directed to go from Asia (Turkey) to Macedonia. They stop first in Philippi.
B. Acts 17:1-10
1. 17:4 – What is a “God Fearers”? According to Jewish rabbinic tradition, all non-Jews are "children of Noah", and as such arc subject to a special universal Noachite Covenant. This covenant, made with Noah following the Flood, is prior to, and separate from, the Torah Covenant made at Sinai with the "children of Israel". All humankind is accordingly obligated to follow the "seven Laws of Noah", traditionally enumerated as: the prohibitions of 1) idolatry,2) blasphemy,3) bloodshed,4) sexual sins,5) theft, and6) eating flesh (or blood) from a living animal; and the 7) obligation to establish legal systems to administer justice.(1) Indeed, according to rabbinic interpretation, Jews, functioning as the chosen priestly people, and a "light to all nations", are obligated to teach the Gentile world those portions of Torah applicable to non-Jews (Exodus 19:5; Isaiah 42:1-6). Such Gentiles who turn to God, and turn away from these sinful practices, are said to "have a share in the world to come". They have become yirei shamayim ("fearers of Heaven", i.e., God), and in the Land of Israel are called ger toshav (i.e.,"the stranger that dwells among you")(2) These Noachites are not proselytes, nor full converts to Judaism. They remain Gentiles, but with special attachment to God, Torah, and Israel. (James D. Tabor)
2. The missionaries had to leave suddenly because of persecution by the Jews. Paul had wanted to return but when he was not able to, he sent Timothy. He wrote this letter in response to the word that timothy brought him after his visit there. The Thessalonians had a profound interest in the expected return of Jesus to the earth and were anxious about the meaning of the 2nd coming. Paul wrote to reassure and advise them.
II. First Thessalonians (About 50-52 AD)
A. Chapter 1 – Thanks for your example
B. Chapter 2 – There have been some rumors going around about us when we were missionaries to you, we may not have kept all of the mission rules. Stop those rumors! We loved you, as missionaries do.
a. 2:20 – “No man can conceive how great is the worth of souls. One soul saved which would have been lost means added Kingdoms and worlds, added spirit children born to exalted beings, added hosts of intelligent beings going forward everlastingly in eternal progression.” (DNTC 3:46)
C. Chapter 3 – We missed you a whole bunch and sent Timothy to check on you. We prayed for you. (See verse 10)
D. Chapter 4 – Verses 3-5 – Morality- 9 of the 14 Epistles warn against this.
a. vs. 3 sanctification
b. vs. 3 fornication – The Greek “porneia” refers to any illicit sexual activity.
c. Vs. 5 lust of concupiscence (ardent desire; hence, sexual lust. Desire for that which is desirable to the senses) as the Gentiles which know not God. – It was acceptable to have a mistress and certain religious rites promoted sexual activity outside of marriage.
d. Vs. 13-18 Don’t worry about those who are dead-they will also be caught up to meet the Lord.
E. Chapter 5 –
a. vs. 1-5 How to know when Christ is coming
b. vs. 12-26 – A laundry list of things to do from a missionary to his converts.
III. Second Thessalonians - Purpose – to clean up any 2nd coming questions
A. Chapter 1 – Don’t sweat the petty stuff and don’t pet the sweaty stuff.
a. vs. 4-9 Those who persecute will receive God’s recompense.
B. Chapter 2:1-4
The “falling away comes from the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God. Almost always Paul uses the word temple figuratively- Occasionally, the body is a temple for God’s spirit, but usually the Church is the temple of God. In this case the temple is representative of the church in which God dwells. When the man of sin is revealed, he will be in the midst of the temple, the church remains, but Satan is in the midst of it. This imagery demonstrates that the great apostasy will take place through the influence of Satan in the Church, thus making the restoration necessary. (Paraphrased from Joann Seely, Studies in Scripture, V p. 60-61)
"The original Greek text of 2 Thes. 2:3 uses the word apostasia, meaning literally a revolt or breaking away. Apostasy is a conscious act of rebellion against God in which one deliberately attempts to change divinely appointed doctrine and practice and opposes God's chosen leaders. Apostasy, by defilnition, is not a gradual drift from divine truth, nor is it a waning interest in the gospel. Apostasy, as Paul says, is rebellion, and it always reveals the great motivator of rebellion-Satan, or Perditiion (from the Latin perditius,destruction). The phrase "falling away" may connote to some people a gradual slide from the truth, but a comparison of the of the wording of the KJV with other versions of the Bible shows the significance and intent of Paul's comment. The New International Version renders the Greek as "the rebellion"; the Revised Standard Version, "the rebelliion", the Phillips Bible, "a definite rejection of God", the Jerusalem Bible, "the Great Revolt", the Contemporary English Version, "People will rebel against God." (Ogden p. 119-121)
C. Chapter 3
a. Verse 1 – Pray for the gospel to have free course
b. Vs. 6 – be careful who you hang with
c. Vs. 10-11 – don’t be lazy
Brigham Young on the 2nd coming, “Do not be too anxious for the Lord to hasten this work. Let out anxiety be centered upon this one thing, the sanctification of our own hearts, the purifying of our own affections, the preparing of ourselves for the approach of the events, that are hastening upon us. This should be our concern, this should be our study, this should be our daily prayer. (JD 9:3)
122-10 - Colossians
Colossae was a small unimportant city in the Lycus Valley of Phrygia near Laodicea and Hierapolis. (11 miles east of Laodicea) It lay in a high valley about 100 miles east of Ephesus with mountain scenery resembling the Wasatch Front in Utah. Epaphras, a native of Colossae and perhaps Timothy were its first Christian teachers. Scholars are not sure if Paul ever visited Colossae. This letter was written as a result of a visit to Paul by Epaphras during Paul's 1st imprisonment in Rome about 61 or 62 AD. Philemon and Onesimus lived in Colossae.
"The problem that Paul wrote about were false doctrines concerning the Godhead and worship of angels (2:18). Paul knew that apostates would disseminate perverse doctrines to draw away disciples. Some were denying the physicalness of the Savior, just as some of the Corinthians denied the idea of bodily resurrection. The basic issue was whether Jesus was God or man (Monophysitism or Arianism) or both at the same time. Great diversity of belief prevailed. Some argued that Christ had one mind (Apolloninarianism) or one will (Monothelitism), or that he was born a man and became a a God (Nestorianism). Where there were two Christians, there were three opinions. Some were also attempting to displace the preeminent Head with mediating angels." (Ogden p. 192-3)
The true doctrines about Christ in Ch. 1 refute the false doctrines in Ch. 2 Ch. 1
Vs. 10-11 - Teach the importance of Works
Vs. 12-15 - The separate nature of Heavenly Father and Jesus. (Also see vs. 1-2)
Vs. 14-19 - Note at least 8 attributes of Jesus; Vs. 15 - Christ is the image (Gk. icon) of the invisible God (John 14:9) God is not made in man's image but (Gen. 1:27) God has a face (Dt. 5:4), eyes (Dt. 11:12), ears (Ezek. 8:18), a mouth (Num. 12:8), arms (Ex. 15:16), hands (Job 10:8), fingers (Ex. 8:19), a heart (Gen. 6:6; 8:21), feet (Is. 60:13). "That which is without body, parts, and passions is nothing. There is no other God in heaven but that God who has flesh and bones" (TPJS. 181) Most Christians base their concept of God on 4 councils held between the 4th and 6th centuries rather than scripture. Pope Gregory the Great compared them to the 4 Gospels, because they formulated the basic dogmas of the Church- the Trinity and Incarnation (Christ taking on a corporal body. The real source of the Trinitarian Doctrine is the Nicene Council of 325 AD. 318 Bishops met to decide whether Christ was similar to or the same as his Father. They decided he was the same.
Vs. 23 - remember Ephesians 3:17 -"Keeping our sense of proportion whatever we do, keeping our precious perspective wherever we are, and keeping the commandments however we are tested reflect being settled, rooted, and grounded in our discipleship. Remaining settled and established is not easy, for we are crowded by the cares of the world. We are diverted by the praise of the world; we are buffeted by the trials of the world, drawn by the appetites and temptations of the world, and bruised by the hardness of the world. But when we are grounded, rooted, and established, and settled, we can have a precious perspective which puts other things in their proper place. This is no small blessing, for it lifts us above our immediate circumstances and concerns, giving us a larger view of things" (NAM, Speeches of the Year, BYU Press, 1982, p. 15-16)
Ch. 2
Vs. 8-9 - Remember 2 Nephi 9:28-29. The word used for body is the gk. soma, referring to a physical body
Vs. 18-19Gnostic philosophy held that God's contacts with men and women were through angelic mediators. Paul denounced the idea. Christ is the Head, and somebody was falsely emphasizing the role of angels. (Ogden p. 195)
Vs. 23 - "Will worship" was man-made worship. Neglecting of the body was a tendency of the Gnostics. They believed that men and women were saved through secret or esoteric knowledge and that the physical body is evil. This led to 2 extremes: complete denial of marriage and sexual relations; or complete indulgence and satisfaction of the physical urges. Both negated the purposes and value of the human body." (Ogden p. 196)
Chapter 3
Vs. 9-10 It is easier to act oneself into a new way of thinking than to think oneself into a new way of acting.
Vs. 16 - Singing in church
Vs. 23 - A great way to live
Chapter 4
Vs. 6 - Do you know anybody who does this? symbolism of salt
Vs. 10 & 16 - Missing Scripture?
