After closing
his prayer “that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be
glorified” in them and they
“be glorified in Him”,
in chapter two and verse one of this second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul the apostle “beseeched” the
“brethren” with
emphasis where we read:
Now we
beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
The
verse begins, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Paul
began with the word, “Now” which
means “but, moreover, and” “we beseech you”
or “ask, request, entreat and beg” “brethren”
which refers to the Thessalonian church members who are “fellow
believers who are united to others by the bond of affection” “by
the coming” or “through the
arrival, advent, and future visible return from heaven of Jesus, to
raise the dead, hold the last judgment and set up formally and
gloriously the kingdom of God” “of our Lord”
who is “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has
power of deciding; master and the title given to God the Messiah”
“Jesus” whose name
means “Jehovah is Salvation” and is “the Son of God, the Savior
of mankind and God incarnate” “Christ”
which means “anointed” and is “the Messiah and Son of God”.
Paul's appeal to the Thessalonian church members was emphasized by
the event of Jesus' return which was looked for and waited upon by
those who believed.
The
verse goes on to say, “and by
our gathering together unto him,”
Paul added, “and by our gathering
together”
or “believers in Jesus Christ assembling and collecting ” “unto
him” which
refers to Jesus Christ our Lord. There will be a day when Jesus
returns for His church, and those who rely upon, trust in and cling
to” Him will be “gathered together”
at His
arrival.
When
we think through Paul's words, we realize this is the beginning of
his appeal or “beseeching”
the Thessalonians. The fact that he uses “the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ” and
“our gathering together”
unto Him tells us this will be an important appeal. Often statements
and appeals are made without any attached reference or magnification,
but this one from Paul should have us waiting upon the edge of our
seats to discover how important his request is. May the Lord help us
to realize when He uses emphasis to begin His petition, we should pay
particularly close attention to what comes next, and thus shall we
do.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians not to be “troubled”
“as the day of the Lord is at hand”,
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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