Month: October 2016 (Page 2 of 2)

Praying for Missionaries

October 13, 2016 / Allan Babcock

I admit it. When I receive prayer requests from missionaries, I don’t always pray for them. In today’s text (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5), Paul requests prayer from the church in Thessalonica. Is it a request we should honor?

“Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord’s message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you. Pray also that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message” (3:1,2, GNT).

Paul asks for prayer for two purposes: one, “that the Lord’s message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you” and, two,“that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message.”

” . . . that the Lord’s message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you.”

The Good News Translation translates the Greek word trecho “spread rapidly.” Think of a California wildfire that, driven by the wind, swiftly eats acres of dry vegetation. Paul asks for prayer that the Lord’s word may spread throughout the Mediterranean lands like that.

And that it may be honored (Greek, doxazo—“magnified, praised, glorified”) This is what happened among these Thessalonians. Though most Jews and Gentiles rejected it as heresy or nonsense, these men and women “received the word in much affliction with the joy of the Holy Spirit” and “turned from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:8,9, ESV). Paul asks for prayer that many other cities may similarly receive the Lord’s message.

” . . . that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message”

People to whom Paul will take the Lord’s message aren’t morally good or even neutral. They are “wicked and evil.” How different Paul’s view of humanity from ours! The popular view today seems to be that people are basically good (just not perfect) and in need of minor improvement not saving

For Paul, the ultimate expression of wickedness and evil is not believing the Lord’s message. For the Lord’s word isn’t a polite invitation of the crucified Savior, but an authoritative command from the risen Lord. It’s a message that saves, to be sure. But to disbelieve it is to rebel against supreme rule. And, as Paul discovered, often that disbelieving rejection is accompanied by hostility and even violence. Therefore, the missionaries need the Lord’s power to overcome wickedness and evil.

“But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and keep you safe from the Evil One” (3:3, GNT).

Paul will later write to the Ephesians: “For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age” (Ephesians 6:12, GNT). So the missionaries will encounter “wicked and evil people.” But the fight is not against them, but the Evil One who empowers them. Their only hope of victory (both the Thessalonians who continue to endure persecution and the missionaries who take the gospel to worshipers of other gods) is the faithful Lord who strengthens and keeps his people safe from the Evil One.

““And the Lord gives us confidence in you, and we are sure that you are doing and will continue to do what we tell you” (3:4, GNT).

Paul’s pastoral heart encourages the persecuted new Thessalonian believers, even as he asks for their prayers. The Lord convinces us, he writes, that they will not fall prey to the Evil One or surrender to their enemies. Instead, he is confident they will continue to follow what Paul teaches them and asks of them.

“May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God’s love and the endurance that is given by Christ” (3:5, GNT).

Paul finishes his prayer request with a two-fold prayer for the Thessalonians as he remembers their struggle against enemies of the faith.

” . . . May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God’s love . . . “

Contending with the hostility of gospel enemies daily, they must remember—indeed he prays they may have a greater understanding of—God’s love for them. While the objects of the hate of men, they are the objects of the love of God!

” . . . May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of . . .the endurance that is given by Christ.”

The way of Christ is narrow and rough. Following demands steadfast endurance. But how shall they in their natural weakness endure against a powerful Enemy? By “the endurance that is given by Christ.” His is a supernatural supplement that will strengthen them for the long haul.

Prayer.

How shall a wildfire-spreading, honored message happen? How shall the Evil One be defeated? How shall God’s love and Christ’s endurance be accessed more? By prayer.

Missionaries serve on the front lines, many in countries that outlaw the gospel, all facing the oppression of the Evil One. They need our prayers that access the Lord’s provision. Not only that, but when we pray (and give financial support) we take part in the global spread of the Lord’s message. Our little lives take on world-wide, eternal meaning.

The next time we receive prayer requests from missionaries, may we reply with our prayers. And I pray that I won’t read their requests and trash their letters, but pause to pray—and join my ministry with theirs for the sake of the lost and the glory of our Lord.

Vote?

October 12, 2016 / Allan Babcock

I’m obsessing over voting. I don’t know what to do. Both the Republican and Democrat candidates are shameful. What has happened to America that Clinton and Trump are our only choices? If there is ever a sign that this country is in decline, these two are disgraceful proof.

So: how to vote, or not?

Long ago I swore, “Never Trump!” But now that there are no other Republican candidates on the crowded stage, and Hillary is the only alternative, I’ve switched my “never” to her and reconsidering. My alternatives, as I see them now are: (1) vote against Hillary by voting for Trump or (2) don’t vote.

My single vote (or absence of it) will make no difference. Mine won’t decide who will sit in the Oval Office, I know that. I could quite easily reject both candidates and just stay home. Neither one deserves my vote; neither is qualified for the highest office in the land. Yet I want my voice to be heard, although in the votes of millions, it really won’t be. Yet if Paul told us to pray for those who rule (1 Timothy 2), certainly he’d want us to vote for those who rule.

I’ll not waste time by citing all the vices of both candidates. Here are just a few that have grabbed my attention as I’ve followed this bizarre election cycle.

Trump is vulgar and crude. Probably a misogynist and racist. Disinterested in studying what he doesn’t know and doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and doesn’t care. He thinks it’s all about him. He’s untrustworthy. He claims to be a Christian, but his life shows the fruit of an ignorant, arrogant unbeliever. He seems the epitome of everything I as a Christian don’t value.

Hillary is a congenital liar, untrustworthy in every word and deed. Her thirty years in public life have contributed very little if anything to the country’s good. She’s a progressive who will move America further to the Left (away from biblical values), increase the size and role of government, raise taxes, fight for taxpayer-funded abortions anytime anywhere and become Obama on steroids. All her scandals, especially Benghazi, disqualify her for office.

If neither are fit to serve, my dilemma should be easily solved: don’t vote. But here’s what drives me to the voting booth—our next president will nominate one, or as many as three, Supreme Court justices who will serve for decades and whose decisions will affect America for generations. Hillary’s nominee(s) would almost certainly turn the Court a sharp Left and give us more justices who see the Constitution as a “living document” and find in it laws that simply aren’t there. (Even this Court found same-sex “marriage” lurking somewhere in the spaces!) Decisions will be made, then, not on the basis of what the framers intended, but what politics demand. We will have moved further from a nation based on constitution law and closer to a nation based on political and societal trends. I can’t think of anything more dangerous for this country.

With Hillary, we know what the Court will become. With Trump, at least there’s a chance he’ll appoint conservative constitutionalists as he’s said. No guarantees; I know that. But maybe . . .

Let me be very clear, as our current president is fond of saying (usually when he’ll end up being anything but): I’m not supporting Trump. I’m not one of those Christian leaders who jumped early on “the Trump Train” and schmoozed up to him like he was the Second Coming of Jesus. My first thought about some of them: they just want to stand close to the Man in the limelight. How could a Christ-centered leader stand with a man whose life and values contradict everything we stand for as Jesus’ followers? I’m not supporting Donald Trump.

Thinking of Christian leaders makes me wonder if there’s a Christian position to take? The only one I can see is this: look at the candidates’ values, history and policies and pick the one closest to the faith. Or, in this case, the one least distant from it.

So right now with a month to go, I’m leaning toward voting against Clinton by voting for Trump. If I do vote against Clinton by voting for Trump, I’ll do it believing God is sovereign and will cause his will for America to prevail. I’ll do it eternally grateful that, because of his grace in Christ, I belong to the kingdom not of this fallen world. My future well-being doesn’t depend on the occupant of the Oval Office. But while I’m here I want to promote righteousness, or at least at this point stave off the rising tide of unrighteousness in this country. And I’ll vote praying God will show his great mercy to America.

Also, vote Republican for the down-ballot candidates so Hillary can be controlled.

(Please read Wayne Grudem’s fine blog on the matter—http://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/10/09/trumps-moral-character-and-the-election-n2229846).

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Words for a Prize Fight

October 11, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Life can be a prize fight. Bell rings, they yank your stool away, and you walk into the ring to face a mountain man who pounds you. Times like that need encouraging words. (Helmet would help too!)

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17 Paul encourages persecuted Jesus’ followers . . .

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2:13,14).

“But” introduces a contrast. Paul has just written about “those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2:10b,11). These are those captive to “the mystery of lawlessness.”

Does God’s action seem harsh? Maybe. But they made a choice: ” . . . they refused to love the truth” (2:10) and “had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2:12). Therefore, in his righteousness, God condemned them in their choice “so that they may believe what is false” (2:11).

In contrast, Paul, Silas and Timothy know they always owe God thanks for the Thessalonians, because sovereignly God “chose [them] as the first fruits to be saved.” God did this “through sanctification by the Spirit and [their] belief in the truth.” God “called [them] through [Paul’s] gospel, so that [they] may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There’s disagreement over the Greek word the ESV translates “firstfruits.” If aparkay (“firstfruits”), Paul means the Thessalonians are among the first of a great harvest of believers in Christ. If ap’arkays (“first”) Paul means God chose them “from the beginning”. Either is consistent with truth taught elsewhere in Scripture; either translation is permissible.

“God chose you”. God took the initiative in the Thessalonians’ salvation. That they are “beloved by the Lord” implies God chose them without merit on their part. He simply chose to love them.

God chose them to be saved “through sanctification by the Spirit.” In other words, God saves not only by forgiving sinners’ sins, but by the Holy Spirit progressively transforming them into holy people. The believer’s part in the process is just that—“belief in the truth.”

How do they come to faith? By God calling. When Paul preached the good news of Jesus Christ to the Thessalonians, (Acts 17:1-9) God was present literally calling the Thessalonians through Paul’s words. And God’s purpose in it all was “so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Doxa refers to a condition marked by honor, power and striking appearance and, therefore, is translated glory or splendor. This glory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ; believers are saved to share in it.

What an encouragement Paul’s words must have been to the persecuted Thessalonians! The “cross” now; the “crown” to come. With that “end” in view, Paul urges the church to act on those encouraging words . . .

“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2:15).

“Stand firm” comes from the Greek stayko implying stability. In its literal sense it’s translated “stand” and figuratively “be steadfast” or “stand firm”. When Paul connects it to “hold to the traditions that you were taught by us”, he means “stand your ground and keep holding tightly to the teachings we passed on to you. Don’t renounce them and accept the false teachings of your persecutors.”

But how can they do that knowing they’re marked men? Beatings, false legal charges, robbery, mob violence—these have become common occurrences. How much safer to surrender and recant! So Paul concludes with a benediction/prayer . . .

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word (2:16,17).

They have been loved by God who is their Father and by the Lord Jesus Messiah himself. Solely through grace they been given eternal courage and a gloriously good future. Paul prays that God through Jesus would comfort and encourage their inmost beings and cause them to stand firm in every good work and word. Defensively, may they respond to abuse with humility and forgiveness, loving their enemies and praying for them. Offensively, may they continue to “gossip” the gospel and do good to those who do them evil. Despite their suffering, indeed because of it, may they continue to show themselves a model church for the glory of the One who has brought eternal life to them and is coming for them.

What round are we in?

Some of us reading this feel as if we’re getting pounded by a wicked left hook to the jaw or a crush blow to the gut. Life has turned rough and the fight seems endless. Faith feels weak. Our knees are buckling. Maybe it’s persecution. Or illness. Or any one of a hundred “blows” life in this fallen world throws at us.

Paul’s words in this text are for us, also. To read meditatively. To pray as I will now . . .

God, thank You for loving us and from the beginning choosing us to be saved from the guilt and power of sin and the seduction of this passing-away world. Thank you for the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the gift of faith to believe the truth. Thank You for calling us through the gospel, so we might share in the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Enable us to stand firm and hold tightly to the tradition of truth passed down to us from those who saw You and heard You. Please comfort and encourage our hearts so from our inmost being we might stand firm in every good work and word that You might be seen and heard and made much of through us who are little sinners saved for Your glory by Your grace. Amen.

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The Man of Lawlessness

October 9, 2016 / Allan Babcock

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawless is revealed . . . ” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3b).

In the first quote above, a secular educator predicts this century “could well become a period of lawlessness” (for blog and entire article see https://theoldpreacher.com/the-rebellion/) In the second, the apostle writes about a sinister “man of lawlessness” to be revealed.

The Thessalonians, persecuted for their faith , feared that “the day of the Lord” had come, and they had missed Christ’s Second Coming, which would save them from suffering. Paul, though unsure how that rumor started, warns them against being deceived.

Hard for us to relate, no? We’re not panicked over missing Jesus’ coming. In fact, caught up in our crowded calendars, it seems we care too little about his return or the world’s conditions leading to it.

For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? (2 Thessalonians 2:3b-5).

This “man of lawlessness” will be a man (Greek, anthropos) empowered by Satan (“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders . . . “), who openly defies God (“opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God”).

Why is lawlessness called a “mystery”, especially when we see evidence of it in Washington (when politicians violate the Constitution, lie under oath to Congress, etc.) and in Syria (when Syrians and Russians brazenly slaughter innocent civilians) and in the streets of Chicago and Baltimore and Ferguson (when protesting gangs defy police)? Because lawlessness is a power at work “beneath the radar.” One day, according to God’s purposes, it will be fully and visibly unleashed. The results will be catastrophic. Until then lawlessness and “the man” are restrained . . .

And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).

Unlike the Thessalonians, we don’t know what or who the restrainer is. Commentators have made educated guesses—the church, the Holy Spirit, gospel preaching, governments and so on. I’m rather intrigued by governments and governors being the restrainer. As long as they maintain a modicum of law and order, lawlessness and its “man” are relatively restrained. But if governments descend into chaos lawlessness will result and “the man of lawlessness” will be free to assume authority.

Paul doesn’t describe the suffering that unrestrained lawlessness will bring. But just think of the horrors men of lawlessness (who wrote their own laws and set themselves up like gods)—men like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot—inflicted on the world! And they were only precursors of “the man of lawlessness” to come!

Nevertheless, his dominance will be short-lived and easily ended (“the lawless one will be revealed, whomthe Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his [that is, the Lord Jesus’] coming”).

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

Upon those who “refused to love the truth and so be saved” God sends “a strong delusion. ” Its purpose? , ” . . . so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Note the choice made by unbelievers isn’t just intellectual or “spiritual”. It’s hedonistic, specifically one of pleasure. Those who found greater pleasure in what God calls “unrighteousness” will be condemned in final judgment.

Paul draws from Daniel.

Lest we think “the man of lawlessness” is a biblical outsider mentioned only once in Scripture, he recalls Daniel’s prophecies in the 6th century B.C.

“As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise, |
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time”
(Daniel 7:24,25).

“His power shall be great–but not by his own power;
and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does,
and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints.
By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
and in his own mind he shall become great.
Without warning he shall destroy many.
And he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes,
and he shall be broken–but by no human hand.”
(Daniel 8:24,25)

“And the king shall do as he wills.
He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god,
and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods.
He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished;
for what is decreed shall be done.”
(Daniel 11:36)

These prophecies find multiple fulfillment. First, during the Macabbean wars in 167 B.C., when Antiochus Epiphanes (“the visible god”) attacked Jerusalem, sacrificed a pig on the temple altar and tried to exterminate the Jews. Second, when Rome attacked Jerusalem in 66 A.D. and, after protracted war, destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. And, third, still to come in the last of the last days when the “temple” will be profaned by the ultimate “man of lawlessness.” (Those who hold that Jews will rebuild a literal temple in Jerusalem believe “the man of lawlessness” will sit there. Those who hold that “temple” refers to the church, as it does often in the New Testament, hold that his sitting is metaphorical but just as offensive.)

Last of the Last Days’ Lawlessness.

It should concern us, maybe even frighten us. Contrary to popular thinking, the world is not evolving up. We didn’t start in a primal swamp and develop into a better and better humanity. The opposite is true. God created the first man and woman “very good.” It’s been downhill ever since. Humans who created the Smart Phone are killing each other like barbarians. And times will worsen.

Our only hope lies with the One who is coming again . . .

For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will by no means precede those who have died.
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command,
with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet,
will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up in the clouds together with them
to meet the Lord in the air;
and so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, NRSV)

And then the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth,
annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming . . .
So then, brothers and sisters,
stand firm and hold fast to the tradition
that you were taught by us,
either by word of mouth or by our letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who loved us
and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope,
comfort your hearts
and strengthen them in every good work and word.
(2 Thessalonians 2:8,15-17, NRSV)

What Good Is Private Faith?

October 6, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Last Tuesday Democrat Vice-President nominee Senator Tim Kaine debated Republican Vice-President nominee Governor Mike Pence. It turned out more combative than the pundits led us to believe. Pence won hands-down and should be the presidential nominee.

Senator Kaine showed up as Hillary Clinton’s attack dog. It wasn’t his irritating 70 interruptions of Governor Pence that got to me though. What bothered me most was his abortion position. He claims to hold to the traditional Roman Catholic position of the sanctity of life. Privately he’s “pro-life”, claiming to be “personally opposed” to abortion.

Yet when it comes to politics and public policy he is ardently “pro-choice”. “I strongly support the right of women to make their own health and reproductive decisions and, for that reason, will oppose efforts to weaken or subvert the basic holding of Roe v. Wade.” Kaine has “a 100% pro-choice voting record for his time in the Senate from both NARAL and Planned Parenthood.” He argues he doesn’t want to “mandate” his personal faith on anyone.

Agreed that the Senator must uphold the laws of the land. But, if his faith is central to everything he does (as he claims), why not vote against pro-choice positions? Why stand so ardently for pro-choice? If he truly believes in “life” for the unborn, why not work within the system for “life”? The only answer is: politics takes precedence over the sanctity of life. The argument that women have the right to make their own reproductive decisions is like saying humans have the right to murder. Both result in the death of an “innocent”.

I’m reminded of the apostle James’ jolting question: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him (James 2:14)?

James expects the answers “no good” and “no”. Faith that doesn’t evidence itself in works is worthless. It cannot save. Private faith—faith that does not inform one’s living and show itself in one’s actions—is not true faith at all.

Senator Kaine is not alone. Who doesn’t struggle to translate his faith into action? Such a battle is part-and-parcel of the Christian life. But when one argues that he can hold to faith while insisting outward action isn’t necessary—indeed contrary action is permissible—that man is deceiving himself.

Lord, give us leaders who believe the truth as you have revealed it in your Word and who devote themselves to obeying that truth even when politically unpopular!

The Rebellion

October 5, 2016 / Allan Babcock

The night before a family vacation to Paris, 8-year-old disobedient Kevin was banished to bed in the attic. Unfortunately, in the chaos of leaving the next morning, nobody remembered attic-sleeping Kevin. The boy awoke to a strangely empty house, Worse, he was the only one left to fight off two bumbling thieves. So starts the hilarious movie “Home Alone”.

The Thessalonians, too, faced a strange situation; but no one was laughing. A spreading rumor had shaken them out of their wits: “The day of the Lord has come!” Yet no one had heard an archangel’s voice or God’s trumpet or cry of command from the descending Lord (1 Thessalonians4:16,17). Had they been “left behind”?

Learning of their predicament from Silas and Timothy, who’d returned to Corinth after delivering Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote to calm their fears . . .

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thessalonians 2:1,2).

“The day of the Lord” is the day of “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him” as Paul had written earlier: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).

Their alarm seems bizarre. How could they think they missed such a momentous event? How could they think they might have slept through a cataclysm of Christ’s Second Coming with its attendent grandiosity and his terrifying wrath on his enemies?

It seems bizarre, too, because frankly we don’t think much about the day of the Lord. Christ’s Second Coming has been eclipsed by more immediate day-to-day concerns until it’s become more a matter of theological speculation. But the apostle warns against being deceived, either by heretical teachings or preoccupation with passing-away things.

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things (2:3-5)?

To calm the Thessalonians, Paul reminds them that the “day of the Lord” will be preceded by two unmistakable events. First “the rebellion comes.” Second, “the man of lawlessness is revealed.” These two events will go “hand-in-glove.” One will foster the other. Perhaps the rebellion will occur first, then the man of lawlessness will be revealed as one to quell the rebellion.

The original Greek word behind “the rebellion” is apostasia, also translated “revolt”, “desertion”, “defection”, “abandonment”, or “apostasy”. Before Christ returns “the rebellion”will come.

Jesus prophesied it to come at the end of this present age: “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12).

Years later, Paul provided more detail. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3,4).

Such vices mark the “last days” since Christ’s first coming, but presumably increase like birth pains. We can expect, then, a falling away from the faith until, like Old Testament Israel, only a faithful remnant remains. In other words, the church is destined for increasing minority status.

However, this “rebellion” may include far more than the church. F. F. Bruce (Word Biblical Commentary) writes: “It appears more probable . . . that a general abandonment of the basis of civil order is envisaged. This is not only rebellion against the law of Moses; it is a large-scale revolt against public order, and since public order is maintained by ‘the governing authorities’ who ‘have been instituted by God’, any assault on it is an assault on a divine ordinance (Romans 13:1,2).

To that point an online article (“Lawlessness and Disorder: An Emerging Paradigm for the 21st Century”) by Phil Williams (holds the Wesley W. Posvar Chair in International Security Studies at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh and is the director of the University’s Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies) is prescient. Williams begins with this paragraph:

“The 20th century will probably go down in history as the exemplar of geopolitical interstate conflict with two World Wars centered in Europe followed by over four decades of the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union. The 21st century, in contrast, could well become a period of lawlessness and disorder—a century in which states are in long-term decline; new violent actors challenge states and one another; resources such as food, water, and energy become a central focus of violent competition and of large illicit markets; demographic and environmental trends pose challenges to sustainability, security, and stability; and the severity of problems is significantly increased by the interconnections and often perverse interactions among them . . .”

Williams continues by citing the following “megatrends” as evidence of future increased disorder in society . . .globalization, population growth and demographic trends, urbanization, natural resources and global climate change, the decline of the state and the rise of alternative governance. I disagree with some of William’s argument, but agree that it lends a credible secular view of the biblically-prophesied coming rebellion. (You can read the entire essay at http://mercury.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/163854/ichaptersection_singledocument/0217aa14-981b-41a6-86a0-0ab0c2ca9046/en/convergence_Ch2.pdf.).

Next time we’ll take a close look at “the man of lawlessness”. Meanwhile, we would do well to give heed to Paul’s conclusion to the Thessalonians: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). For us I take that to mean . . .

Don’t take your Christianity casually.
Follow the news with your Bible in hand.
Prepare to live as part of a minority community in the world.
Faithfully follow Jesus and his Word even when the majority turns away.

For the Bible Tells Me So

October 1, 2016 / Allan Babcock

Andy Stanley, senior pastor of Atlanta’s North Point Community Church, recently preached a sermon, “For the Bible Told Me So.” If I understand correctly, this was his thesis: we shouldn’t believe Jesus loves us because the Bible says he does, but because the apostles were witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection and, therefore, everything Jesus taught is true.

Confusing? Uh, yeah. But more importantly, potentially dangerous. If we can’t stand on biblical truth, how do we know Jesus rose from the dead? How do we know the apostles were witnesses? How do we know Jesus loves us? Are we to treat the Bible like a Chinese menu? (“I believe in Jesus, but not in Jonah’s fish or John’s Revelation!”)

This link http://www.albertmohler.com/2016/09/26/bible-tells-biblical-authority-denied/ takes you to Dr. Albert Mohler’s response to Stanley. In the 8th paragraph you’ll find a link to Stanley’s sermon on video. You should watch. Then read Mohler’s response. Then, if it’s not past bedtime, finish off with my comments.

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If you’re still with me, a few final comments . . .

Archaeology. Undoubtedly, as Stanley asserts, some dates in Scripture don’t seem to add up. Archaeology has yet to prove the historical authenticity of certain sites or events. Stanley warns if the Bible is the foundation of our faith, “as the Bible goes, so goes our faith.” It’s a “fragile house of cards” that comes tumbling down.

As I see it, archaeology is confirmative not determinative. I’m not an archaeologist, so I may be wrong. Because archaeologists haven’t yet found remains of Jericho’s fallen-down walls doesn’t mean they won’t or that the walls didn’t fall, no matter what a high school teacher or college professor may claim.

Bibliolatry. Bibliolatry is the worship of the Bible. Sometimes I fear some of us get so Bible-centered we forget it’s meant to point beyond itself to God and what he’s said and done. Stanley may have something to say to us there. What he does say is this: “Christianity does not exist because of the Bible anymore than you exist because of your birth certificate. It’s the other way around.”

Well, duh! Whoever said Christianity exists because of the Bible? The Bible records what God has done in human history through Israel, through the church, and primarily through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Book exists to bring us to the Person. Who doesn’t know that?

“Contradictions”. Take the age of the Earth. Some Christians emphatically believe, by counting biblical generations, that the Earth is 4,000-6,000 years old, while scientists insist the age is billions. Can we believe the Bible about Jesus if science “proves” it wrong on this? No time to delve into possible explanations. Let me just say this about these apparent “discrepancies”.

A long time ago someone told me, “Treat the Bible like a friend. When you come to something that doesn’t seem to ‘fit’, just trust and wait. Keep the friendship. Sooner or later you’ll understand.”

Or how about this? There’s a great deal about the universe we don’t understand. Do we conclude it’s not truly the universe because of contradictions or “missing pieces”?

Good Heart, Unfortunate Approach. I assume Stanley’s motive is good: he’s trying to reach people turned away from Christ because their simple childhood faith can’t stand against the onslaught of intellectuals determined to prove the Bible untrustworthy. Unfortunately, by treating the Bible as of secondary importance, Stanley undermines the very source needed for mature faith.