Henry: Welcome to immerse, the daily bible reading experience.
Day 20.
Intro 3: II Thess: immersed in Second Thessalonians.
Even though Paul had already written one letter to the new believers
in Thessalonica, they still needed more guidance and encouragement.
Someone claiming to be Paul had apparently also written to them, telling
them something entirely different.
One of the Thessalonians main concerns had been about when Jesus
would return to Earth to initiate God's rule and its fullness.
Paul had explained in his earlier letter that the exact time of Jesus
return could not be predicted.
He encouraged the believers to live in such a way that Jesus would be honored
by their lives no matter when he came.
But the false letter they had received said that the day of the Lord understood
to refer to God's decisive victory over his enemies had already begun.
These false teachers claim to have received visions and
revelations confirming it.
This was making the Thessalonians question what Paul had told them
in person and in his first letter.
So Paul wrote again, and since letters were usually dictated to a scribe,
he now authenticated his letter with a personal signature at the end.
This letter now known as Second Thessalonians, addressed these
new concerns and reasserted some of Paul's earlier teachings.
Paul explains that Jesus will not return until a figure called
the Man of Lawlessness appears.
This person will be the culmination of evil on earth.
He will deceive the world into worshiping him as God and violently
suppress the worship of anyone else.
His arrival will be the climax of the struggle between good and evil,
at which point Jesus will return to defeat the man of lawlessness
and establish God's kingdom.
Paul then confirms what he said before exactly how and when
this will happen is unknown.
The important thing is to live well for God now facing suffering
and persecution with endurance and with hope in Christ's return.
Finally, Paul again observes that some in their community were still
refusing to work, to earn a living.
Apparently, they had become even bolder in this idle way of life, possibly
in the wake of the visions and the false letter claiming that the time of
the Lord's return had already begun.
So Paul is forced to oppose them even more strongly.
In this second letter, he tells a community of believers to stay away
from those who won't work, urging them to correct those who are idle the
way they would, a brother or sister.
The second letter to the Thessalonians,
this letter is from Paul Silas and Timothy.
We are riding to the church in Thessalonica to you who belong to God,
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you because
your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.
We proudly tell God's other churches about your endurance and
faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering.
And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make
you worthy of his kingdom for which you are suffering in his justice.
He will pay back those who persecute you.
And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted.
And also for us.
When the Lord Jesus appears from heaven, he will come with his mighty
angels in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don't know
God, and on those who refuse to obey the good news of our Lord Jesus.
They will be punished with eternal destruction forever separated from
the Lord and from his glorious power.
When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people, praise from
all who believe, and this includes you for you believed what we told you about him.
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to
live a life worthy of his call.
May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things
your faith prompts you to do.
Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live
and you will be honored along with him.
This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him.
Don't be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the
day of the Lord has already begun.
Don't believe them.
Even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or
a letter supposedly from us, don't be fooled by what they say for that
day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and
the man of lawlessness is revealed.
The one who brings destruction, he will exalt himself and defy
everything that people call God in every object of worship.
He will even sit in the temple of God claiming that he himself is God.
Don't you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?
And you know what is holding him back for?
He can be revealed only when his time comes for this lawlessness
is already at work secretly.
And it will remain secret until the one who is holding
it back steps out of the way.
Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed.
But the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy
him by the splendor of his coming.
This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit
power and signs and miracles.
He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction
because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.
So God will cause them to be greatly deceived and they will believe these lies.
Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than
believing the truth as for us.
We can't help but thank God for you.
Dear brothers and sisters, loved by the Lord.
We are always thankful that God shows you to be among the
first to experience salvation.
A salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy,
and through your belief in the truth, he called you to salvation.
When we told you the good news, now you can share in the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep
a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who loved us and by
his grace, gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen
you in every good thing you do and say.
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us.
Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes.
Just as when it came to you.
Pray too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people.
For not everyone is a believer, but the Lord is faithful.
He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue
to do the things we commanded you.
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression
of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Stay away from all believers who live idle lives and don't follow the
tradition they received from us for you know that you ought to imitate us.
We were not idle when we were with you.
We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it.
We worked hard day and night, so we would not be a burden to any of you.
We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to
give you an example to follow.
Even while we were with you, we gave you this command.
Those unwilling to work will not get to eat yet we hear that some of you are
living idle lives, refusing to work in meddling in other people's business.
We command such people in, urge them in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, to settle down and work to earn their own living.
As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.
Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter.
Stay away from them so they will be ashamed.
Don't think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.
Now, may the Lord of Peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every
situation, the Lord be with you all.
Here is my greeting in my own handwriting, Paul, I do this in all
my letters to prove they are from me.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
This concludes today's Immer Reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.