The #1 fisherman

Before we open those letters written by Simon Peter, let’s take a look at this guy.  Just how well do we know him?...

Simon was a son of Jonas from Bethsaida, earning his living as a commercial fisherman on the Sea of Galilee until… becoming the first disciple called by Jesus, bowing the knee to Him then following immediately.  Simon was married and even shared a house in Capernaum with his business partner and brother, Andrew.

Have you ever heard that things happen in three’s?        

Well they sure did for Simon Peter!

• He scored 3 names: Simon (Greek form of Simeon) Peter (Gk: ‘a stone’) and Cephas (Aramaic: ‘a stone’)
• He made 3 vital statements:                                         -         “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God”   -         Attests apostle Paul’s writings are Holy Scripture   -         “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they (Gentiles)”
• One of 3 disciples who saw Jesus transfigured and talking with Moses & Elijah
• He witnessed Jesus raising 3 people from the dead
• He witnessed 3 miracles on the Sea of Galilee:             -         Jesus walking on water                                     -         Jesus rebuking a storm                                     -         the fastest boat ride in all of history
• He had 3 things to say to Jesus over having his feet washed
• He had 3 scary brushes with Satan:                           -         rebuked by the Lord: “Get behind me Satan…”         -         warned that Satan wanted to ‘sift him as wheat’   -         witnessed Satan entering Judas Iscariote
• He let fly with 3 statements he would later regret:              -         “I will lay down my life for your sake”                -         “Although all shall be offended, I will not          -         “I will not deny you”
• One of 3 disciples who witnessed the Lord’s agony in Garden of Gethsemane - then went to sleep
• He denied Jesus 3 times – cursing, swearing & lying, just as Jesus predicted
• He experienced his 3 most successful fishing ventures  - directed by the Lord:                                                   -         filled 2 boats so full they began to sink             -         the first fish of the day caught had money in its mouth!                                                                         -         after leading his mates back to fishing, caught 153 huge fish
• The Lord questioned him 3 times whether he loved Him, then warned him of a martyr’s death
• He was arrested 3 times, beaten once
• Gentiles presented a huge problem for him after seeing a vision then being summonsed by Cornelius the centurion in Caesarea…                                                             -         Censured by Jewish Christians for eating with Gentiles                                                                       -         Withstood to the face by Paul for compelling Gentiles to obey Jewish laws                                       -         Settled for being ‘apostle of the circumcision’
• He did 3 bold things with John:                                   -         healed a lame man at the temple, in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarean                                           -         visited believers in Samaria                                 -         told the Jewish elders: “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” – Jesus Christ of Nazareth
• Given the keys of the kingdom, so he…                     -         was first to address the assembly and the public gathering afterwards                                                   -         opened the door to 3000 Jews and then Gentiles     -         hosted Saul/Paul for 15 days in Jerusalem
• He witnessed all 3 momentous events:                               -         Christ’s death & resurrection                             -         Christ’s ascension                                             -         the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
• He learnt at least 3 important lessons:                         -         “How often should I forgive my brother?”           -         as one of 12 he will sit on a throne judging 12 tribes of Israel                                                             -         lying to the Holy Spirit is more dangerous than Peter’s sword – Ananias & Sapphira dropped dead

Quite some guy don’t you think?...so let’s see what he had to say!...NEXT.

ORDERS ARE ORDERS!

How did Paul end this 2^nd letter to Thessalonica? ...or more to the point, how can we wrap up this letter?

There’s plenty of encouragement, comfort, consolation, hope, grace, love, patience, peace.....                             

There’s also warning to those who choose to be lazy busy-bodies: “Get to work and eat your own bread!”                                                                      

Notice that there’s no warning about not worshipping the antichrist or taking his mark.

Notice also that 4 times Paul speaks of his commands and twice he mentions ‘traditions’.                                  

May be these are just Paul’s opinions?... or he’s just speaking of culture?                                                                         

Oh no...                                                 

These are commands (Gk paraggello: transmitted message) with supreme authority....

“in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” 

Even ‘the traditions’ carry the same authority...               

The Greek word ‘paradosis’ means: transmission of ordinance.

We’d better pay attention, hey.

STRONG DELUSION?...FROM GOD??

So the Restrainer of evil gets taken out of here – what then? (2 Thess 2:8- )

This guy emerges, pretending to be God, seats himself in the newly-built temple and uses every satanic trick imaginable – miraculous powers, signs, pseudo wonders...            

He will have no lack of admiring audience – people who have rejected truth to find pleasure in everything wrong.

Here’s the scary bit...                                                

God himself chooses to deliberately send them ‘energeia plane’ - yes you read right...

 

STRONG DELUSION!

Some people don’t think God would do such a thing, so let’s see what He said thru the prophet Ezekiel:                    

“I the Lord will answer him that comes according to the multitude of his idols... I the Lord will answer him by Myself, and I will set my face against that man, and I will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

What will be their fate?        Damned!...all of them!

So the choice is yours...

‘Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth’ or... believe the lie.

It’s that simple – love truth or enjoy a lie.

WHO RESTRAINS EVIL TODAY?

A 2^nd letter from Apostle Paul and his team has arrived at Thessalonica, soon after the first. 

So why the urgency and why is it written?  

Is there any connection with that 1^st letter?                

Paul passionately begs them to stay focussed on the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him. (2:1) – our hope!                                                      

The persecution and tribulation is ongoing...but it’s now a whole lot worse. In fact, it’s so intense the Thessalonians worry it must be the dreaded ‘Day of Christ’! (The Day of the Lord in prophecy) 

“Whatever happened to that promised Rapture?”

Notice though what  he does NOT speak of: the Rapture (harpazo) – its not mentioned at all!... the detail has already been taught in the 1^st letter and in Paul’s visit.                                                                              

To settle their shaken minds Paul spells out the time-line of events. Before the ‘Day of Christ’ begins there must be... 

• Apostasy (apostasia). Okay some like to call this ‘departure’ of the Church by the Rapture but this will be a split-second snatch and the Rapture is certainly not the focus of this letter anyway.
• The ‘man of sin / son of perdition’ will be revealed.
• There is one hold-up to all that though...

‘He who restrains until He be gone’                                                                                  

Who restrains evil on the Earth today?  Prior to the Great Flood, God said: “My Spirit shall not always plead with Man...” and the Lord Jesus promised before leaving: “The Comforter...will bring demonstration to the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”  

It is the Holy Spirit who forms the Church and restrains evil on Earth today.

Here we have obscure proof that the Church MUST be gone for the Day of Christ to begin – that fearful ‘Day of the Lord’ prophesied to Israel by so many of the Old Testament prophets... WHO DID NOT PROPHECY OF THE CHURCH!

  

The Gay Jerusalem??

Notice the Jewishness: this usurper will sit in the temple (about to be built) as if he was God! ...and notice too there is nothing said about not worshipping ‘the beast’ nor receiving his mark.  

Why not?                                   

The Church is off the scene – 'not appointed to wrath'.

Yup, JEW FIRST, then Gentile

After apostle Paul’s first letter to Thessalonica, we are left with hope and comfort of the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ - FOR US - so we will be with Him forever. Our loved ones ‘asleep in Jesus’ won’t miss the Rapture (harpazo) and we have not been ‘appointed to wrath’...  

Okay but what about that ‘Day of the Lord’? How much of it will we see? 

Before we go any further, here’s how Paul described himself... 

• “a Jew...brought up at the feet of Gamaliel” - a doctor of the law held in honour by all the people
• “taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers”
• “a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee” “...after the strictest sect of our religion”
• “an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin”
• “Are they Hebrews? So am I.   Are they Israelites? So am I...”

Even though now a Christian and the Lord’s ‘chosen vessel’ for the spread of the gospel, taking the good news to Europe for the very first time, this guy still clearly identifies as an Israelite and knows his Bible better than any of us! 

He has recently visited Thessalonica, beginning at the Jewish synagogue, and experienced persecution from fellow Jews first hand.   Yes, he makes it abundantly clear that the Jew always comes.... FIRST!                           

Whether for salvation... or tribulation for doing evil... or glory, honour and peace for doing good - it is always Jew first, then Gentile. In fact he clearly distinguishes between Jews, Gentiles & the Church of God.

Now Paul and his team have written another letter soon after the first!                                                            

Obviously the faith of these Thessalonians is ‘growing exceedingly’ (1:3) so that they are really copping heavy persecution (1:4), although a few are being lazy busy-bodies (3:11-15).

Paul sounds somewhat exasperated though:              

“Don’t you remember that when I was with you I told you these things?”  (2:5)                                                                                                                               

Where did we find the Day of the Lord?                       

In Old Testament Jewish prophecy – WHERE WE DO NOT FIND THE CHURCH!    

Keep all this in mind as we open this 2^nd letter further....NEXT

JUST LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT!

Apostle Paul’s team is writing to the new believers in Thessalonica about the coming (parousia) of the Lord Jesus Christ and they have just been given the stunning promise of the Rapture (harpazo) when all will be caught up to be with Christ forever.                                                         
When will this happen though? Let’s check 1 Thessalonians 5...

• The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night – no warning! After checking with Old Testament prophecy we notice that this is not just one day but an era when God finally shows His hand in fearsome judgment followed by overwhelming blessing on Israel and the rest of the world.
• It will begin when relative ‘peace & safety’ seems to be achieved
• In the meantime believers need to be sober and protected by faith, love and hope

Okay, the rapture will happen...but when??                                                                               

Paul offers comfort three times and we also read: “God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” – which tells us we will not suffer God’s wrath, but...                                                       

Will God somehow protect us?... or take us out of here first?

Yes, Jesus Christ is coming (parousia), those ‘asleep in Jesus’ will not miss out, and we will all be with Him forever... but when??                                                               

It might be obvious to you Paul, but so far it’s not obvious to us from your letter.  Maybe you are going to have to write them another letter!                                          

NEXT: That 2nd letter to Thessalonica!

Meantime, can we just sit back and wait?  No way!        

Warn, comfort, support, be patient, do good, rejoice, pray, be thankful, quench not the Spirit, prove all things, abstain from even the appearance of evil....  

THE SNATCH (the Rapture)

Many have trouble accepting that God could create the universe in just 6 days, just by speaking it to happen.   
Well, they’re sure going to get more indigestion over this one!...

We’re finding the focus of this first letter to Thessalonica is the coming again of Jesus Christ but… 
Now we come to the highlight!... 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

• This is ‘by the word of the Lord’!
• Believers who have died are ‘asleep in Jesus’ – not ‘soul sleep’
• The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will raise the bodies of all the saints!
• God will bring them with Christ as their changed bodies rise!
• We all get ‘caught up’ (raptured) together – it’s a snatch!
• We all get to meet the Lord in the clouds
• We will then be with the Lord forever!

We’re not meant to be ignorant about this, surrounded by people with no real hope found in their idols. In fact we are to comfort each other with this.

Yes, there are people alive today who could experience the rapture!

Notice this is a snatch (harpazo), not a gathering (episunagoge). There is no mention of Christ’s glorious appearing (epiphaneia) in either letter to Thessalonica – the Rapture will be a private affair.

What about this wrath business?....NEXT