As
Paul the apostle began this section in his second letter to the
Thessalonian church members, he “beseeched” which means
“entreated or begged” the Thessalonians “by the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him”. He
continued his request by referring to “the day of Christ”
where in chapter two and verse two we read:
That you 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.
The verse begins, “That
you be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit,
nor by word,...” Paul began
with the phrase, “that you be not soon shaken”
which in Greek is the phrase “saleuō mē tacheōs
saleuō” and means
“too quickly, shortly, hastily or suddenly have a motion produced
by winds, storms, waves, to agitate, shake or cause to totter” “in
mind” or “that which
comprises alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and
those of feeling, judging, determining, considering or judging
soberly, calmly and impartially”, “or be troubled”
which means “to cry aloud, make a noise by outcry, fright and
alarm”, “neither by spirit”
or “by a person professing
to have the spirit of
prophecy” “nor by word”
which refers to “speech, discourse, doctrine or teaching”. Paul
did not want the Thessalonians to be “agitated or troubled in their
minds” regardless of whether it came by someone having a “prophecy”
or “discourse and doctrine” which they claimed as being from God.
The
verse goes on to say, “...nor by letter as from us, as
that the day of Christ is at hand.” Paul
continued with the phrase, “nor by letter”
which refers to “an epistle or written message” “from
us” which means Paul and his
traveling companions, “as that the day”
or “the last day of this present age, the day Christ will
return from heaven, raise the dead, hold the final judgment, and
perfect his kingdom” “of
Christ” which refers to “the
anointed Messiah and Son of God” “is at hand”
or “be upon, impend, threaten, close and present”. Paul didn't
want the church members to be persuaded by “letters”
either because the “day
of Christ” was very
near.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we begin to understand how people were
among the Thessalonians who desired to turn them from the doctrine of
Paul. They must have used “prophecies”, “spiritual words” and
“letters” to attempt to convince the Thessalonians of another way
that was not true. Paul desired for the Thessalonians to “stay on
track” or “stay the course” because Jesus was coming soon, and
he felt it was very near. We too must not be persuaded toward
“spiritual prophecies and words” which attempt to move us to
positions other than what the Bible says. If Paul felt that “the
day of Christ is at hand”, how
much more should we? May the Lord keep us within His ideas and ways
and not be persuaded through any means to alter from the doctrine He
has given.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians not to “let any man
deceive” them, so read ahead,
and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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