We are in chapter two looking at the passages that speak of the "man of lawlessness" who must come before the day of the lord. What I find interesting is that Jesus himself, as depicted in the gospels, was very similar to this man of lawlessness. Was he doomed to destruction? Yes. Did he oppose and exalt himself over everything that was called god and worshipped. Yes. Did he set himself up in god's temple? Not in reality, but he is said to be in god's heavenly temple. Did he proclaim to be god? Kind of, yes, depending which bible authors you read.
The author asks the Thessalonians to remember the stuff he told them about the man of lawlessness, when he was with them. However, he is not mentioned at all in the first letter to the Thessalonians. The man of lawlessness is currently being held back (by whom?) so that "he may be revealed at the proper time." There is a "secret power of lawlessness already at work." Someone is holding it back. Who? Whoever it is will eventually be taken out of the way. That sounds ominous. After that "the lawless one will be revealed." When? Hasn't happened yet.
The lawless one will be overthrown and the splendor of his coming destroyed by the breath of Jesus's mouth. Too funny. The jokes could write themselves. "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders." Still sounds like the Jesus of the gospels. This lawless guy will deceive those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and be saved. God sends the perishing people a powerful delusion they will believe the lie. Nice god. What exactly is "the lie" that they are believing ? The proclamation by this guy that he is god? Oops. Wasn't that Jesus's lie also? Anyway, everyone who hasn't believed "the truth" as defined by the author will be condemned.
The author will always be thankful for the Thessalonians, because god chose them "to be saved through the sanctifying work of the spirit, and through belief in the truth." I'm skeptical about how much sanctifying work a spirit can do and how much of anything a spirit can do. The Thessalonians are said to have been called so they can share in the glory of the lord Jesus. Who called? Did anyone actually hear anyone calling? Probably not. In christianity a calling is usually determined by merely having a strong feeling about something. The spirit must be at work in such cases. That's christian logic.
The Thessalonians are urged to stand firm in their faith and hold on to the teachings the authors passed on, by word of mouth or letter. (If they didn't, it would make the authors look bad.) this letter doesn't actually seemed to have accomplished anything, as far as I can tell. The central teaching is about the man of lawlessness coming before the christians get to meet Jesus in glory. This was not even hinted about in the first letter, where it seemed Jesus was expected within a short time frame.
Till next time.
Showing posts with label second coming of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label second coming of Christ. Show all posts
Thursday, August 8, 2019
Sunday, August 4, 2019
2 Thessalonians part two
We are at chapter two. Things get a little wierd now. The author tells the Thessalonians not to pay any attention to prophecies, reports, or letters, saying "The day of the lord has already come." In other words, people might try to get them to believe Jesus came and they missed it. Did this actually happen? Were people saying those kinds of things? Isn't that kind of what the gospels were saying? The christ already came and he was not recognized for who he was. After all Paul is not using the word return. In fact, I just looked up the words "return" and "returned" in Strong's concordance. It doesn't occur in reference to Jesus in any of the New Testament epistles.
" The New Testament talks of Jesus, the lord, or the christ, coming out of heaven at the end of times. Nowhere in any of the non gospel books can I find the words return or returning when referring to "the day of the lord." There is also no phrase "second coming" referring to Jesus, as is often used in Christianity. It seems strange to me. If he was coming back to the earth he left, wouldn't the language reflect that?
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says the Son of Man is going to come In his kingdom, but he doesn't say that is himself. He also says that will happen before some of the people he is talking to die.
The book of John, the latest gospel, written later than most of the rest of the NT, is the only one that specifically has Jesus saying he will come back, to the apostles. That is in chapter 14, where he also says, "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.....On that day you will realize I am in my father and you are in me, and I am in you....He who loves me will be loved by my father, and I too will love him and show myself to him...If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. my father will love him and come to him and make our home with him...the holy spirit, whom the father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said."
This doesn't sound anything like a literal return to me. By the time this was written, the christian community had to have given up hope in any kind of "day of the lord" coming soon and created an alternate scenario of Jesus privately revealing himself to believers." (I also posted the portion in quotes in the Roll to Disbelieve comments.)
Anyway, the Thessalonians are told the lord hasn't come yet. "That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (Who is that man?) He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called god or worshipped, so that he sets himself up in god's temple, proclaiming himself to be god." The emperor Caligula tried to do exactly that, about the year 40CE, according to Philo of Alexandria. Read what Philo wrote here: (XLIII).
Caligula's statue appears to have never made it into the temple, and Caligula was killed. This letter to the Thessalonians was written at least a decade after Caligula died. If it is referring to him, it is a retroactive prophecy. If this author is not actually Paul, and he wrote much later, he appears to have his timeline messed up. I can't find any other indication that a statue of a "god" was ever set up in the Jewish temple. That doesn't mean there wasn't plans by some other emperor to do that. However, the temple is gone. If this man of lawlessness was supposed to set himself up as a god in the temple, it would have happened almost two thousand years ago. What does could this possibly have to do with us today?
" The New Testament talks of Jesus, the lord, or the christ, coming out of heaven at the end of times. Nowhere in any of the non gospel books can I find the words return or returning when referring to "the day of the lord." There is also no phrase "second coming" referring to Jesus, as is often used in Christianity. It seems strange to me. If he was coming back to the earth he left, wouldn't the language reflect that?
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says the Son of Man is going to come In his kingdom, but he doesn't say that is himself. He also says that will happen before some of the people he is talking to die.
The book of John, the latest gospel, written later than most of the rest of the NT, is the only one that specifically has Jesus saying he will come back, to the apostles. That is in chapter 14, where he also says, "Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.....On that day you will realize I am in my father and you are in me, and I am in you....He who loves me will be loved by my father, and I too will love him and show myself to him...If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. my father will love him and come to him and make our home with him...the holy spirit, whom the father will send in my name will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said."
This doesn't sound anything like a literal return to me. By the time this was written, the christian community had to have given up hope in any kind of "day of the lord" coming soon and created an alternate scenario of Jesus privately revealing himself to believers." (I also posted the portion in quotes in the Roll to Disbelieve comments.)
Anyway, the Thessalonians are told the lord hasn't come yet. "That day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (Who is that man?) He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called god or worshipped, so that he sets himself up in god's temple, proclaiming himself to be god." The emperor Caligula tried to do exactly that, about the year 40CE, according to Philo of Alexandria. Read what Philo wrote here: (XLIII).
Caligula's statue appears to have never made it into the temple, and Caligula was killed. This letter to the Thessalonians was written at least a decade after Caligula died. If it is referring to him, it is a retroactive prophecy. If this author is not actually Paul, and he wrote much later, he appears to have his timeline messed up. I can't find any other indication that a statue of a "god" was ever set up in the Jewish temple. That doesn't mean there wasn't plans by some other emperor to do that. However, the temple is gone. If this man of lawlessness was supposed to set himself up as a god in the temple, it would have happened almost two thousand years ago. What does could this possibly have to do with us today?
Saturday, July 27, 2019
1 Thessalonians part four
We are at chapter four verse 13. Paul is telling the Thessalonians about people who have "fallen asleep" which a euphemism for died. He doesn't want the Thessalonians to grieve about those people who have died "like the rest of men who have no hope." (Is false hope a good thing?) Paul believes "that Jesus died and rose again" and that one day he will bring the dead back with him. Well, not all the dead. Just the ones who "fell asleep in him." In other words, only Jesus believers. So, should the Thessalonians grieve for those who died and didn't believe?
By the way, grieving is normal and very human. It also occurs in the animal kingdom. Pretending that people don't actually die, but live on, prevents people from learning valuable coping skills. Tragedies happen. Death happens every day. We will all die. Everyone we love will die, some before us. We need to talk about how to deal with it in non harmful ways.
Next Paul tells the Thessalonians that the dead in christ will rise before the living, at the command of the archangel and the trumpet call of god. When he says rise, he literally means rise up into the air. After the dead begin to rise, the living believers..."we who are alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air. And we will be with the lord forever." Very dramatic. What happens to the rest of the people, the dead and the living? Anyway, it never happened, did it?
Paul can not tell the Thessalonian when this will happen because god wants it to be a surprise. He wants to catch people off guard, when they think they are safe. Then boom! Destruction. No escape. Nice god. No worries, the Thessalonians won't be caught off guard, like those who sleep peacefully at night and don't expect intruders. No, the Thessalonians are like fully awake people in the day time, alert and self controlled.
The Thessalonians will be ready for Jesus's coming by "putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet." There's a war coming. They need armor. God did not "appoint them to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus." He died for the believers, the dead and the living ones. They will all get to live together with him. Good for them. I'll pass.
Next Paul tells them how to police each other. They were to respect the hard workers who are over them in the lord. These are not everyday hard workers but ones who have been given authority over the church in Thessaloniki. This passage is talking about church work, not everyday living work. The respect has not necessarily been earned. They are also to "warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone." This is in the context of the church. It is god's will that they are always joyful, thankful, and prayerful, no matter what.
Finally the Thessalonians are told not to put out the spirit's fire, not to treat prophecies with contempt, test everything, and avoid every kind of evil. The letter ends with a kind of blessing. May god grant the Thessalonians sanctification and blamelessness of spirit, soul, and body, and he can do it. (What is the difference between a spirit and a soul?) Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for his entourage and to greet all the bothers with a holy kiss. The letter is to be read aloud.
Next the wrap up.
By the way, grieving is normal and very human. It also occurs in the animal kingdom. Pretending that people don't actually die, but live on, prevents people from learning valuable coping skills. Tragedies happen. Death happens every day. We will all die. Everyone we love will die, some before us. We need to talk about how to deal with it in non harmful ways.
Next Paul tells the Thessalonians that the dead in christ will rise before the living, at the command of the archangel and the trumpet call of god. When he says rise, he literally means rise up into the air. After the dead begin to rise, the living believers..."we who are alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air. And we will be with the lord forever." Very dramatic. What happens to the rest of the people, the dead and the living? Anyway, it never happened, did it?
Paul can not tell the Thessalonian when this will happen because god wants it to be a surprise. He wants to catch people off guard, when they think they are safe. Then boom! Destruction. No escape. Nice god. No worries, the Thessalonians won't be caught off guard, like those who sleep peacefully at night and don't expect intruders. No, the Thessalonians are like fully awake people in the day time, alert and self controlled.
The Thessalonians will be ready for Jesus's coming by "putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet." There's a war coming. They need armor. God did not "appoint them to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus." He died for the believers, the dead and the living ones. They will all get to live together with him. Good for them. I'll pass.
Next Paul tells them how to police each other. They were to respect the hard workers who are over them in the lord. These are not everyday hard workers but ones who have been given authority over the church in Thessaloniki. This passage is talking about church work, not everyday living work. The respect has not necessarily been earned. They are also to "warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with everyone." This is in the context of the church. It is god's will that they are always joyful, thankful, and prayerful, no matter what.
Finally the Thessalonians are told not to put out the spirit's fire, not to treat prophecies with contempt, test everything, and avoid every kind of evil. The letter ends with a kind of blessing. May god grant the Thessalonians sanctification and blamelessness of spirit, soul, and body, and he can do it. (What is the difference between a spirit and a soul?) Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for his entourage and to greet all the bothers with a holy kiss. The letter is to be read aloud.
Next the wrap up.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Titus part five
We are at chapter two, verse 11, which reminds Titus that salvation is for all men, and the grace of god teaches them to just say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions. They are to live "self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" (first century BCE) while they wait for the "glorious reappearing" of Jesus. Well they wasted their time waiting. He didn't come. When he got there, he was supposed to "redeem them from all wickedness and purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Again, it never happened. Those people died without seeing what they were promised.
Verse 13 reminds Titus that he is to be teaching these things to the Cretans, encouraging and rebuking them, with all authority. Where did he get his authority from, Paul? Then Titus is told not to let anyone despise him. How will he stop them?
Chapter 3 begins next but there were no chapter divisions in the original. Plus, the content follows on the heels of Paul telling Titus that he had authority and to not let people despise him. Instead, he is to "remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities (Titus? Paul? The appointed elders?) to be obedient, to be ready to do what is good, to slander no one (including Titus and Paul, but not including the Judaizers), to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men" (Except those of the circumcision group).
Starting in verse 3, Paul gives an example of humility by reminding Titus that, after all, he and Titus both used to be foolish too, "disobedient, deceived, enslaved by all kinds of passions," living in malice, envy, and hatred. But the kindness and love of Jesus appeared (to Paul in a personal revelation) and saved them, not because of anything they had done, but purely out of mercy. If Jesus was so merciful, why didn't he appear to everyone in the same way? Instead they must believe that what Paul tells them is the truth, without evidence from their own senses.
The author says Jesus saved him and Titus by "the washing of rebirth and renewal of the holy spirit whom he poured out generously" on them, through Jesus. The washing of rebirth is usually assumed to mean baptism. Who knows what form their outpouring of the holy spirit took. Now they are justified by grace (yay for grace, that undefinable quantity/quality) and have the hope of an eternal life. Paul wants Titus to stress these things, so that those who trusted in god can devote themselves to doing good, which is profitable for everyone. That's the thing isn't it? Doing good can be profitable for everyone, whether or not there are any gods.
From verse 9, Titus is told how to deal with those Judaizers that Paul despises. Foolish controversies and genealogies (Matthew and Luke have genealogies), and arguments and quarrels about the law, are to be avoided. Titus is to warn a divisive person only twice. After that, he is to have nothing to do with that person. Three strikes they're out. Shunning is next. Notice it doesn't say all the rest of the Cretans are also required to shun that person. However, the humble, considerate, and non-slandering Paul, says that those men are warped and sinful, self-condemned. Uh oh. No eternal life for them.
Verse 13 reminds Titus that he is to be teaching these things to the Cretans, encouraging and rebuking them, with all authority. Where did he get his authority from, Paul? Then Titus is told not to let anyone despise him. How will he stop them?
Chapter 3 begins next but there were no chapter divisions in the original. Plus, the content follows on the heels of Paul telling Titus that he had authority and to not let people despise him. Instead, he is to "remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities (Titus? Paul? The appointed elders?) to be obedient, to be ready to do what is good, to slander no one (including Titus and Paul, but not including the Judaizers), to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men" (Except those of the circumcision group).
Starting in verse 3, Paul gives an example of humility by reminding Titus that, after all, he and Titus both used to be foolish too, "disobedient, deceived, enslaved by all kinds of passions," living in malice, envy, and hatred. But the kindness and love of Jesus appeared (to Paul in a personal revelation) and saved them, not because of anything they had done, but purely out of mercy. If Jesus was so merciful, why didn't he appear to everyone in the same way? Instead they must believe that what Paul tells them is the truth, without evidence from their own senses.
The author says Jesus saved him and Titus by "the washing of rebirth and renewal of the holy spirit whom he poured out generously" on them, through Jesus. The washing of rebirth is usually assumed to mean baptism. Who knows what form their outpouring of the holy spirit took. Now they are justified by grace (yay for grace, that undefinable quantity/quality) and have the hope of an eternal life. Paul wants Titus to stress these things, so that those who trusted in god can devote themselves to doing good, which is profitable for everyone. That's the thing isn't it? Doing good can be profitable for everyone, whether or not there are any gods.
From verse 9, Titus is told how to deal with those Judaizers that Paul despises. Foolish controversies and genealogies (Matthew and Luke have genealogies), and arguments and quarrels about the law, are to be avoided. Titus is to warn a divisive person only twice. After that, he is to have nothing to do with that person. Three strikes they're out. Shunning is next. Notice it doesn't say all the rest of the Cretans are also required to shun that person. However, the humble, considerate, and non-slandering Paul, says that those men are warped and sinful, self-condemned. Uh oh. No eternal life for them.
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