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
Scripture:
Daniel 7:13-18, 25-27; 11:29-36
Sat, 2 December 2023

The Triumph

Observation:

What characterises the triumph of God’s people in tribulations under tyrants?

Deeper Reflection
God’s people living under tyrants and suffering tribulations under them can triumph – whether we are delivered from or destroyed in tribulation. The triumph rests on a threefold confidence.We know the conclusion of evil. It is repeated in manifold ways in Daniel that evil that comes through inhuman kings – no matter how great and how long – will definitely come to an end: “he will be broken” (Dan 8:25), “he will be found no more” (Dan 11:19), “yet he will come to his end” (Dan 11:45) and “all these events will be completed” (Dan 12:7).We know God’s calling for us: To be a suffering people – to be captured, plundered, burned or killed (Dan 11:33). But in our suffering, we can be strong as “people who know their God” (Dan 11:32), knowing that God is purging and purifying us to become a sanctified (Dan 11:35; 12:10) and shining people who “shine brightly” with heavenly brightness in the hostile world (Dan 12:3). And we will be a steadfast people who “keep waiting and attain to the 1,335 days” (Dan 12:12) – until we become a sovereign people who “receive and possess the kingdom forever” from “the Ancient of Days” (vv.13-14, 18, 27).We know who is in control. The tribulations under the tyrants in Daniel 7 to 12 are all subject to and subsumed under “that which is decreed will be done” (Dan 11:36; 9:26, 27) “at the appointed time” (Dan 11:27, 29, 35).We conclude Daniel with this theological-discipleship summary statement: We can triumph in tribulations under tyrants when we trust with tenacity in the One who is on the throne.
Application:

How can I triumph in tribulations?

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 Church Board: To grow in the faith and perseverance of overcomers in Christ
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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