Chapter # 2 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
November 7, 2015
Dayton, Texas
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1769 Translation:
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
1901 ASV Translation:
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
4 he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only [there is] one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;
9 [even he], whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
- I. The Specific Difficulty Behind the Letter.
- A. The "beseeching".
- 1. The word is used in the New Testament in texts where the issue is as simple as a mere question regarding some puzzlement or as difficult as a daughter who is demon possessed.
- a. At root, there is an insistence of some degree (whether small or large) for a solution.
- b. In our text/context, the issue is rather significant.
- 1) There is a possibility of a "shaken mind" or a "troubling".
- 2) The text is regarding the relationship of the Thessalonians' grasp of the relationship of the Rapture to the Day of the Lord as it affects their "hope".
- 2. Paul clearly wants the Thessalonians to give him their attention.
- B. The "brethren".
- 1. The word is used 18 times in 1 Thessalonians and 8 times in this letter. This is the second of the 8 in this letter (the first being 1:3).
- 2. The "you, brethren" indicates a deliberate insertion of the relational issue: a common father.
- C. The "by" or "touching".
- 1. This preposition is widely used in the New Testament with a fairly broad range of specific meanings.
- 2. In many of these uses, the word indicates the place a person or thing has in the value system of another.
- a. The root of the word indicates something "over" another entity in some way.
- b. Jesus used the word to say that no one should love someone "more than" they love Him.
- c. Jesus also used the word to describe His death "for" His sheep (making the sheep a highly valued entity within His own values).
- d. Paul used the word in 1 and 2 Thessalonians three times in each letter.
- 1) In 1Thess:
- a) 3:10 uses it to identify those for whom he "prayed exceedingly"; this use indicates both the high value he placed upon them as well as the specific direction his prayers took.
- b) 5:10 uses it to say that Jesus died "for" us so that we might live together with Him.
- c) 5:13 uses it to enhance the high degree of "love" the Thessalonians were to have "for" those who labored over them in the Lord.
- 2) In 2Thess:
- a) 1:4 uses it to introduce the basis for his boasting of the Thessalonians when he was in other "churches".
- b) 1:5 uses it to give the basis for the "worthiness" of the Thessalonians in regard to the Kingdom of God "for" which they were suffering.
- c) 2:1 is our current text and the preposition introduces the phrase that gives content to Paul's "asking".
- e. Summary: In these cases, the word is related to a context in which some one or some thing is considered of high value and introduces the consequent ideas that are tied to that high value.
- D. The "Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ".
- 1. The "coming" is referred to in 7 texts in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
- a. In 1Thess:
- 1) In 2:19 the "coming" is tied to the "hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing" that Paul anticipated in the "presence" of "our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming".
- 2) In 3:13 the "coming" was of "our Lord Jesus Christ with all His holy ones" and it sets the expectation that the hearts of the Thessalonians would be established in holiness before God at that time.
- 3) In 4:15 the "coming" is "of the Lord" at the time when He comes for His Church (the Rapture).
- 4) In 5:23 the "coming" is "of our Lord Jesus Christ" and sets the expectation that the God of Peace Himself would have accomplished His "sanctification" of the saints so that they are "preserved blameless".
- b. In 2Thess:
- 1) 2:1 is our current text and repeats the "of our Lord Jesus Christ" phrase.
- 2) 2:8 refers to the "coming" in view of "the Lord" consuming the wicked one.
- 3) 2:9 uses the word "coming" in reference to the wicked one "whose coming is after the working of Satan.
- 2. The coming is in reference to "our Lord Jesus Christ" in four of the seven uses; it uses "of the Lord" in two of the seven; and it refers to the wicked one in the final one of the seven.
- E. Our "Gathering Together Upon Him".
- 1. The larger context requires 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 as it clearly defines this "gathering".
- 2. The preposition "upon" is not what would typically be expected, but, used with the accusative, it indicates "direction toward" according to Strong's enhanced dictionary.
- F. The "Shaken Mind" and "Trouble".
- 1. The term "shaken" is used when the concept is of something being significantly acted upon in order to move it off of its base with the result of disaster.
- 2. The "trouble" is a mental issue associated with potentially bad news.
- 3. The obvious danger is that the Thessalonians will be removed from their significant confidence in what "our gathering together to Him" means.
- a. They will lose their confidence in their deliverance from the wrath to come, which will, in turn, erode their grasp of grace.
- b. They will anticipate those seriously bad issues that are incorporated in the concept of the final days of wrath.
- 4. This is threatening from "a spirit", "a word", or a forged "letter".
- 5. The root is the notion that "the Day of the Lord" has already begun.