Scripture:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
Tue, 27 September 2022

What Must Necessarily Come First (1)

Observation:

What is the significance of the words “unless…comes first” (v.3) in the text?

Deeper Reflection
OFTENTIMES, AS IT HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY, PHENOMENAL physical, political, economic turmoil and troubles, like wars, famines and earthquakes (Matt 24:6-7) – and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic – are taken as signs that Christ’s Second Coming is very near. But Jesus says that all these things are just “the beginning of birth pangs” (Matt 24:8). When the Thessalonians misthought that “the day of the Lord has come”, Paul points them to the clear order of things: What must come first – the Lord will not come “unless…comes first” (v.3). Two sure signs to watch out for: “the apostasy” or “the rebellion” (apostasia), and the appearance of “the man of lawlessness” (v.3).Apostasia means “to rise up in open defiance of authority, with the presumed intention to overthrow it or to act in complete opposition to its demand”38. The word “can refer to a political or religious crisis”39. The Greek Old Testament uses the word only for religious crisis – unfaithfulness to God (Josh 22:22; 2 Chron 29:19).40 The verbal form of apostasia – aphistēmi − is used for falling away from the faith (1 Tim 4:1) and from the living God (Heb 3:12). The “apostasy” that must come first refers to “a large-scale compromise of faith among God’s people”, which “will not occur in the non-Christian world but rather within the covenant community”41.Jesus has warned that in the last days “many will fall away” (Matt 24:10). So, let us watch our hearts on the inside, rather than signs on the outside. Growing in “perseverance and faith” anchored in the truth is a critical necessity (2 Thess 1:4; 2:15).
38 Johannes P. Louw & Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, Second Edition, Volume 1 (UBS, 1988, 1989), 39.34 39 G. K. Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (IVP Academic, 2003), 203 40 G. K. Beale, 203 41 G. K. Beale, 204
Application:

What does the coming of the apostasy/rebellion in the last days mean to me in my discipleship journey?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for pastors and staff: To be strongly and deeply rooted in the Scriptures
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Sun, 31 December 2023

Sunday Journal

Past Week’s Review
  • What was my high point and my low point for the week?
  • What gave me life and what drained me?
  • How was the Spirit of God at work?
Reflect

What is one key thing that God said to me this week in light of what has happened?

Respond

What is one thing I need to do in light of what God is saying?
Commit in prayer.

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